The Champion of The Sun and The Hearth
by lancewolf6
Summary: It's all connected. That's how the Fates made it. Full of twists and turns, our fate is a small spider web. It connects our choices, our doubts, our fears, and our strengths. But can one god's mistake change it all?
1. Finding a New Home

(Rated T for Language.)

"The fault, dear Brutus, is not in our stars, / But in ourselves, that we are underlings." - Julius Caesar, Act One, Scene Two.

**Pain.** That was all he felt as he crossed the desert, while the cold made it even worse, like he was being put through the outdoor version of a meat locker. He kept running across the dunes, nearly tripping as the sand sank under his meager weight. Lights shined in the other side, the only sign of civilization he had seen in a few days ever since he had ran away from his foster home. His cheek still stung from the knife wound his foster father had given him last week.

Or was it the second? Time was hard to keep track of in the dark basement he was kept in under lock and key, the place he thought would be a safe haven from the bullies in the orphanage. He struggled to keep the painful memories at bay, the cold iron of the shackles against his wrists as he struggled to break free, and the screams coming from his fellow female captive. One of the lights in the distance was shining brighter than most, flickering in a plethora of reds, yellows, oranges, and gold.

That was when the howl pierced the air, filled with rage, hunger, and most of all, desperation. He looked behind him, to see what was apparently an extremely furry coyote. Except this one had blood red eyes, and against the moonlight, the fur shifted into animal pelts. The odor already brought back memories of the first night in the orphanage, the smell wafting from every room.

The wolf slowly shifted into a man with a thin face, skin dangling from every bone like a towel in a clothes hanger. This was not a surprise for him. Everyday, there would be weirder stuff trying to attack him, ranging from a woman with reptile skin and several mutated animal heads as if the woman had been in a radioactive accident,a gigantic lion whose golden fur would have Fort Knox hanging it's head in shame, to a mix of a man and a bull which he could have sworn he saw in a book. At the sight of the man he quickened his pace, determined to reach the riot of colors that was the city.

He was slowly being drawn to the flickering light, which was a simple camp fire. It radiated a sense of home, something he never had ever since dirt face took everything he had. Right next to the fire, was a Maserati, glowing in gold. His stamina slowly evaporated as he got closer to the fire. _So close..._

The growl got closer, until pain spread into his leg in a wildfire, along with the sense of teeth digging into his shoulder. He wrenched his leg from the man and kicked him away, but he could still sense the beast chasing him. The lone man was getting closer, tauntingly slow as he could smell the boy getting closer to his death. His canines were tainted red with his blood. Lycaon licked his lips in anticipation of his next meal. It was so long since he had eaten flesh, mortal or demigod. This was easy prey, and nothing could stop him from eating the scrawny one.

The boy was close, and used the last remnants of his strength to toss himself past the fire in an effort to escape from the beast. One thing he had learned in the wilderness was that animals were afraid of fire. But he had sworn on his mother's grave to never use fire. Not after the warehouse.

He tumbled into the ground, to see a ray of gold aimed at the werewolf pushing it backwards. The man faced the figure who was aiming at him, "This is not fair!" he wailed, "Direct interference!" It is against the ancient laws."

"Sorry bro, but this counts as self defence." said a man so casually, until he was nearly blinded in golden light. Slowly, the light faded. Where the monster stood was the fur coat he once wore.

He was swiftly wrapped in a pair of warm arms, and despite the adrenaline rush he immediately calmed down, tears dripping from his eyes. It was so long ever since he was ever held like that, before dirt face took everything away. He was met by a pair of eyes, their color matching the embers of the fire, warm and welcoming. She reminded him of one of those generic tías, but unlike the old lady he got a few years ago who could have gotten the award for world's most insane madwoman, this one would be everyone's dream version.

He turned to see a man, probably twenty-one, with sandy blond hair. White plastic ear buds poked out of his ears and disappeared into his pockets. His eyes were the same color as the midnight blue sky. On one hand, he had a bow gleaming the same color as the Maserati. On the other hand, he had an arrow, except the tip was shining an emerald green. The arrow and the bow slowly blended into the night, until they vanished into thin air. After a minute in the relaxing embrace from the woman, he finally managed to find the bravery to speak.

"Wh.. Who a... are you?" he stuttered out, his heart still beating like a drum.

The woman gave him a heart-warming smile, "My name is Hestia. You have no reason to fear at the moment. My nephew destroyed the monster for you." She explained kindly.

The boy turned around to face the man, just remembering him. His blue eyes were scanning him in a friendly manner, but also with a distant curiosity, as if he were looking at a book.

"Thank you for saving me." He said to the man, hoping the freaky green arrow would not end up in his direction.

"Your welcome bro." said the adult, like a man fresh out of college, "Say what's your name, little guy? And what are you doing here in Vegas in the middle of the night?"

"My name is Leo." A mix of rage and despair boiled inside him, as he gazed at the two strangers.

"I am here because my mother is dead. Some woman killed her a few years ago. I have been running from foster homes ever since." he whispered out, his tone breaking as the memory of the fire flashed through him. He looked at the hearth nearly warily.

The man's face filled with the same look of pity he got from the parents who ever came to the orphanage, right before they discovered what his family said about him. He was an exile in the world, no shoulder to lean to, no lucky breaks. His family had literally named him as a devil. Everyone was suspicious of him when they hear what the cops had on him.

Hestia's eye widened at the aura of power and sadness pulsing from the boy. Never had she seen such an amount of power coming from one so young, especially for an eleven year old boy.

She looked at her nephew Apollo as he examined the boy. He was skinny, and he was malnourished to the point of death. A knife wound was stretched on the boy's right cheek which would surely yield a scar in the near future. Several gashes were scattered on his arms, right in the brink of infection.

Apollo decided to search his memories. The more he saw, the urge to rip his mother-in-law and his half brother a new one grew, the first one for doing horrendous things to the boy, the latter for ignoring his son and leaving him to such a cruel fate. He pulled himself from the boy's mind and his head snapped towards his aunt. It was clear she also saw his memories. As the two family members glanced at each other, it seemed as if they were having a mental argument.

Finally, they nodded in agreement. Apollo walked towards the boy who was relaxed in the arms of the goddess. "Sleep." Apollo sang softly.

Leo's eyes wavered and blinked at the force of the single word, but he was able to keep his eyes open, astonishing the god of music even more. Apollo waved his hand, and Leo finally crashed into the realm of Hypnos, leaving the crackling of the hearth and the sound of cars in the distance. Apollo finally decided to break the peace.

"The boy is awesome, that I have to congratulate him for." Apollo complimented the snoring child in Hestia's arms as he tended the wounds.

"What are we to do Apollo?" Hestia asked. "You know my brother will not allow this boy in Olympus. He cannot go to the camp, and I will not let my other nephew's child to spend another minute in the fate his father abandoned him to for four years." Hestia added as she sadly watched the boy sleeping so peacefully for some one who has suffered so much in a short part of his life.

"Yes, and the old blacksmith is not even looking for him, and he's his most powerful child. If we leave him here, he'll get killed. It's not like we can whisk off to live a sheltered life. My oracle is telling me the boy is destined for greatness."

Suddenly, a spark kindled in Hestia's mind, and if she could make it work, she could have the boy trained and ready for his destiny. She turned to her nephew. "Well, there might be a way we can solve this dear nephew. We just need to convince him to take in the boy. He can be our champion, so the boy will be ready. You will be able to train the boy in archery. If I am right, he will train the boy in every aspect of combat. For now, I will take in the boy. We will meet again tomorrow and explain everything to the boy."

She vanished in a column of fire, carrying Leo with her. Apollo climbed into his car and rode into the night.

Line Break

Hestia and Hermes sat patiently in the outdoors cafe with a young Leo Valdez enjoying a small chocolate pastry they had bought with a few drachmas. The mortals were teeming the cobblestone street as they trekked across the famous city. In the distance there was the Eiffel tower, it's metal gleaming in the soft sunlight as if it had gone through a car wash.

They already had explained to the young son of Hephaestus about the godly world, and despite all the explanations about the ancient laws and all that junk, the boy refused to see Hephaestus as a father, making Hestia's plan even more convincing. If they failed, not only would the son of Hephaestus not have a home, they would invoke the wrath of his father. And with having company like Zeus, the lord of the skies would make sure their champion forced back into the mortal world.

The one who had changed the most was Leo. His once firewood brown eyes were now a mix of warm reds and gleaming gold, with a ring of brown close to the pupil nearly an exact replica of Hestia's. His hair was in a bit lighter tone, with a small streak of hair in a caramel-ish color right behind his ear. As Apollo had predicted, there was a long scar in his left cheek. He still had the difficulty of thinking this was reality, and not some absurd fantasy his brain had created in order to cope with the torture he had received in the basement.

Apollo could sense Aphrodite's power stuff the street, winding through the alleys, skimming the depths of the Seine, floating in the light blue sky, and regaling the landmarks. He saw a blond, blue eyed teen in a red hoodie holding the hand of a brown haired girl who would have made Aphrodite bitter with envy. He spotted a silver Corvette cruising into a parking space, an obsidian black caduceus stamped right in the middle of the car's hood. He beamed as a man stepped out of the driver's seat, an ordinary cellphone with two crimson snakes molded into the antenna.

He was met by what could have been a lighter-skinned clone of Leo before he had met Hestia and Apollo, with the same curly black hair, elfish features, except he had blue eyes with a glint of mischief. He looked at Leo, like he was contemplating how much he could steal from him. He walked towards their table and sat at the seat right next to Leo, making the (former) son of Hephaestus put his hands in his pockets.

"Well well, if it isn't Hephaestus little blunder?" a small voice hissed out from the man's pocket.

"Now come on George, you now how much the boy has suffered. There's no need to be rude." the same voice retorted, except it was a touch more feminine.

"Shut it you two before I put you both on vibrate." he talked to the antenna, making Leo seriously doubt the man had a sanity.

"Hey Mr. Psycho, you know you're talking to cellphone... right?" Leo said to the man. He turned to face him, and Leo had the weird vision of him being turned into a jackelope, pondering if he had gone too far. He was surprised to hear the man laugh at his comment.

"I like this one Apollo. I can see why you and my aunt want me to raise him. But why could you not have Athena or Ares raise him, instead of me, the traveling rat pack?"

"My nephew," Hestia's voice hardened, "You know that Ares is a cruel god, while Athena would see fit that the boy would return to Camp Half-Blood regardless of what he has experienced, and if she does, she would use our champion as a tool. I would recommend you see his memory before you decide what will happen to him."

Hermes stared at Leo as he saw his memory, as his face shifting from one of disgust, later to have tear drops spilling into his cup of coffee, only to change into a look of pure fury. After ten minutes, the messenger god faced his best friend and his aunt, a strong determination in his eyes.

"Well kid, you got yourself a new father." he tried to play it off as casually as he could, but his rage leaked into his voice. A smile of glee was plastered all over Leo's face, reminding Hermes of his days as a careless Olympian.

"We will visit occasionally to check on our champion, to see if he's dealing with the accommodations finely, Hermes. You do anything that does not involve training our champion, you will face the consequences." Said Apollo, the sun god in rare moment of seriousness.

"No worry dude. The kid is safe with me." said the messenger god, but his face was chalk-white at the threat.

"Sorry man, but Leo has had a rough life. Please make sure he is well taken care of."

"You know I'm still here, right?" Leo said, making both gods blush in embarrassment and Hestia to chuckle at their faces.

"Well Leo, Hermes here has accepted to take you in. In the end, it's your choice."

"I call shotgun!" Leo yelled with delight as he dashed past the mortals and into the Corvette, Hermes and Apollo at his heels. Only Hestia was left in the table her head shaking at their antics, walking towards the silver car.

As soon as Leo entered the car, his eyes went wide. The space inside the silver model was large enough that you could have fit in his mother's old warehouse. If Doctor Who had a car version of the TARDIS, this would have fit in perfectly. A small kitchen dominated the north-eastern corner of the room with a white fridge tucked very middle. Several shelves were labelled with many things in bold black ink ranging from AMBROSIA to MORTAL FOOD and DRAKON EGGS; DO NOT STORE NEAR EXPLOSIVES.

In the right sideof the room, there was a big flat screen TV with various game systems, from a white Wii, to a black Xbox 360. Stacks of video games and movies lined the walls. Black leather couches surrounded the TV. On the left wall, there was a small office with neat orderly stacks of paperwork. A small shelf was filled with many books, all written in ancient greek. Several covers popped out like _The Maze Runner, Divergent, The Hunger Games, Legend,_ and a very tear-soaked _The Fault In Our Stars_. The place was the perfect mix of office, man cave, and living area.

In small spaces that separated the small sections, there were hallways, each one with small signs ranging from Dormitories, to Storage. Apollo whistled as he took in the sight of the TARDIS-Mobile. "Wow Hermes, why did you not show me this crib of yours?"

"Because you never asked."

Leo could have felt his smile widening as the tour of the car-like home. The dormitories each had a queen-sized bed, with pillows and bed rests. A small fireplace spread warmth across the room, making it friendly and comforting. The storage room was filled with various bunch of junk, and he could have sworn he saw a box, the top in messy handwriting reading: THE GODS, MOUNT OLYMPUS, 600th FLOOR, EMPIRE STATE BUILDING, NEW YORK, NEW YORK, WITH BEST WISHES, PERCY JACKSON. He approached the box, until Hermes picked it up .

"Say, what's this?" Hermes wondered as he opened the box. His eyes widened, and he took out a black stamp and glued it into the box, muttering something about impertinent children of uncle P.

After the end of the tour, with several threats of castration from the usual peaceful goddess of the hearth, along with an arrow to the head from Apollo in case he mistreated their champion, Hermes finally faced his half-cousin. "So, you Xbox cuz?"


	2. Bashing Some Heads

(Author's note) Leo will seem quite OOC in this book, but remember, being relentlessly chased by monsters after being trapped in a jail of a basement with a psycho guy changes people.

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><p><em>Does the walker choose the path, or the path the walker?- Garth Nix<em>

_Two Years Later_

**He twisted to the side as** a hunting knife was nearly thrust into his backside as he backed away, often parrying the knives as a female figure slashed and stabbed, trying to get the boy an injury, as the traditional match was usually first blood. Still he kept dodging as an overhead strike came from a man who carried a sword with lightning fast speed and skill. Leo dug into his quiver and knocked an arrow, to fire it at a golden one coming straight towards him, the match of skill deflecting the shot. He jumped back as a pillar of fire appeared from thin air into the space he once was in, thrown in by a woman in a brown shawl. A spear was spun towards the young demigod by a man in mist white armor, nearly skimming the boy's ear.

The five trainers continued their assault, as the dead huntress continued her strikes as she tried to hit the boy in the stomach with the point of the knife, only for the boy to dash towards the wall, pursued by the huntress. She thought the boy was easy prey as he ran towards the wall. Her jaw dropped to the ground as he nearly levitated up the wall, temporarily using it as a springboard, and jumped behind her with grace that rivaled any huntress she had seen in her centuries as a huntress. The only one she thought could rival him was the lieutenant, Zoë Nightshade. She knew she had taught the boy well, but where had he picked up on those skills?

Leo used the temporary moment of vulnerability and aimed a kick at her back, successfully knocking the teenaged girl into the wall. He ducked as an arrow ricochet towards him and shot an arrow towards the girl's shoulder, piercing the ghostly flesh. The daughter of Apollo did not respond, instead kept to the floor, signifying surrender. He rolled forward as an uppercut slash missed his un-scarred cheek, slicing a small lock of curly hair. The boy ran towards the archer, slicing apart the quiver's worth of arrows with the knife at his back pocket.

Perseus sprinted along with Achilles to back up the god, but slowed down seeing the god easily handling his champion well. He used his bow like a Bo Staff, deflecting the knife wherever it attempted to hit. He pushed forward, only for the metal to link with the hilt of the knife. Leo aimed a kick at the god, hitting him in the place he wanted the most, the groin. The god nearly crumpled at the kick, and jumped back, shooting the ancient heroes a dirty look. They soon trekked towards the combatants and circled around them. The moment the knife and bow linked again, they ran forward, intending to slash at Leo in the elbows.

Their eyes widened as Leo let Apollo use his strength and push him backwards, making both heroes slam into Apollo. Leo watched his trainers with mischief as they lifted themselves from the dog pile they had formed and shot death glares at Leo. He just sent them cheeky grins as Perseus and Achilles charged at him full speed ahead, while he returned the favor. As they faced each other, a wall of fire burst between the three heroes. Both Perseus and Achilles slowed down while he kept running forward, dauntless to the flames. He knocked Achilles into the ground and struggled getting the spear from his grasp.

Theseus slashed at him, horrified as Leo grasped the momentum between him and Achilles, using it to spin the son of Thetis into his slash. Achilles let go of the spear as he muttered, "You're one lucky bastard Valdez. You're lucky I'm not alive or I would kick that ass of yours."

"Why thank you!" he replied as he rolled to the right as a ball of fire zoomed towards the place Leo had been before.

The goddess of the Hearth and the flame user exchanged blows, Hestia often tossing fireballs while Leo moved them towards the other side. Apollo yelped in surprise as a fireball shot past him point-blank from Leo. Soon the god added his addition to the attack and fired arrows. Leo was using the fireballs from Hestia to burn Apollo's arrows, while Perseus stalked towards him, trying to avoid meeting Leo's eyesight. He lunged towards the demigod who saw the son of Zeus out of the corner of his eyes. He used the blast of flame from Hestia and it surrounded him like a shroud, the flames flickering across his body with ease.

He grabbed the spear from Achilles and lashed at the hero of myth who had retreated at the fact that Leo's fire would have melted his sword, letting him use the spear's length to total advantage. He spun and stabbed, thrusting unpredictably into the least expected places-the shoulder, the hand, his head. He pushed Theseus backwards to the wall, and Theseus temporarily slowed as he felt the cold obsidian wall at his spine. Leo slashed at the chest, only for Perseus to roll towards the right. Perseus launched himself from the wall as he parried a slash from Leo's spear. He finally dashed towards his opponent, to get make the spear useless with its range, only to get a kick in the chest.

Timing it right, he landed on his feet, his sandal covered shoes scratched against the coal floor. He kept slashing and stabbing, trying to get under his student's guard, yet he was still unable to hit him as the Leo dodged, blocked, parried, and ducked under his strike. It was not until Perseus put too much strength into the storm of slashes did Leo get into his defense, leaning to the left and unleashing his own attacks, until they locked weapons. Slowly, Leo leaned down, until he kicked Perseus in the legs, knocking him down. He slammed the hilt of the knife down to his head, and he groaned as he fell unconscious

A loud clapping came from the shadows, stopping the brawl between the now remaining Olympian and goddess with their champion. "Ah, my nephew, it seems that Hermes chose his words correctly when coming towards me for your training with the dead." said Hades admirably.

"Thank you Uncle. Your trainers were the best of the best." Leo said respectably, knowing this was not the god he wanted to joke around with.

"Now, as you know, there is something I ask in return in exchange for the training you have gotten."

Leo nodded as he waited for the lord of the dead's demand. "There are two of my children who I had decades ago, back before the pact my three brothers forced me into. Alecto has managed to get them out of that accursed Lotus Casino. At the moment, they are residing at Westover Hall, a military school in Maine. A satyr that is in the school has detected them, and has sounded the alarm. Three of his demigod friends are even now driving along with a clear-sighted mortal towards the school. A Daughter of Athena, a recently revived Thalia Grace, and Poseidon's lap-dog, Percy Jackson." He mentioned the three demigods like he had swallowed bile.

He was about to go out of the underworld until Hades continued. "There is also a Manticore posing as the Vice Principal of the school. He is planning to kidnap them and use them as weapons for the coming war. Champion of my sister and nephew, you must bring them towards the Underworld. If Zeus were to find out that my children had survived his murder attempt, he will try to kill them. Alecto, Megaera, and Tisiphone will be in the school as back-up. Not that I doubt you, but if there's any more trouble than necessary, you can call on them for aid."

"Thank you uncle. I will certainly keep that in mind." he said as the god dissolved into the shadows, taking his dead mentors with him.

"Leo." Apollo said as he touched his champion's shoulder, "Before you leave there is something you should know. When you go to the school, beware any choices that you make. One of them will decide your fate." said Apollo ominously as he disappeared in a series of flashing lights, making Leo turn away.

"Good luck my champion. Remember what I have told you. Use the powers I have given you, despite how much you are not fond of them. It is not a curse, but a blessing." said Hestia, kissing his cheek, and burst into a pillar of flame.

He picked up his monster-proof I-phone, a gift from Hermes, and tapped the google app. In a few clicks, he had already gotten the specific place, city and all of his targeted site.

Leo sighed as he pondered this out as he faded into the light, a trick Apollo taught him that came in handy for travel. It was useful as a type of long-distance teleportation, mainly based in light, since no matter how dark a room or night was, there was always some type of light. He could easily twist the mist to his will and make sure the mortals don't see him. The satyr and the monster would be hard to deal with, since they could easily pick up his odor at a second's notice. He could just light-travel out of the school with Hades' kids. After that, well, he saw no troubles. But then again, Leo's luck usually was at its worst when making plans.

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><p><strong>He ended up<strong> **in front of** a snowy cliff side, with a castle that had a macabre theme going to it, with coal-black walls, turrets that Leo easily imagined filled with cannons and archers,and slit windows, each one letting in some harsh white light, a fitting residence for children of Hades. Two enormous wooden doors made up the entrance. He trudged across the white snow, leaving grass poking out randomly due to his natural heat. He saw the three demigods slightly ahead of him, one girl with black hair in a punk-rock style, the daughter of Zeus he presumed.

One had curly blond hair, who was at the side of a messy-haired boy. The Athena girl and the "Oh-so famous" son of Poseidon. He had heard many of the child's accomplishments from Hermes, but found it strange that the boy allowed himself into being sucked into two quests so far. True, on his second quest he was answering the call of the satyr who was at the school, but why was he not angry at Poseidon in his first quest? After all, from what Hermes knew, he was two steps away from his own current condition before his patrons found him.

Thalia opened the door, and ushered her friends in. Before the door closed, he dashed into the room in a swirl of snow. His eyes widened at the entry hall. The walls lined with battle flags, antique rifles, and ancient weapons that looked like they were not seen since the times of the medieval. He could see the boy reaching for his pocket, and Thalia rubbing at a silver bracelet. He could feel the mist surrounding the two hidden weapons, and instinctively manipulated the light around him, making him invisible. The door slammed behind him, making him look back to see if it was the Manticore.

He let out a sigh that it was not him, but instead the three furies, each one blending into the shadows. "Go towards the party and scout for your lord's children. I will stay behind and keep an eye on the demigods so they don't try anything." he whispered to them, and they rose into the air and went in front of the demigods.

He saw them put their supplies behind a pillar and pickpocket them, drachma, water, prisms, anything that might offer communication. The demigods had halted as they stopped at the sight of two teachers. One of them was Alecto, who disguised herself as a woman, while he could see that the man was the Manticore. He hoped that the three demigod's smell was enough to cover his. After a few seconds of being interrogated by the Manticore, Thalia snapped her fingers. He saw as the beast bent towards her will, but he knew it was useless due to the fact that there were two monsters in front of them.

The Manticore turned to Alecto. "Ms. Gottschalk, do you know these students?" Leo had to choke laughter at the hilarious last name the fury had chosen.

"I yes. I believe I do, sir." She practically scowled at the group. "Annabeth. Thalia. Percy. What are you doing away from the gymnasium. What are you doing away from the gymnasium?"

He could hear the footsteps coming from nearby, and he internally cursed at the fact that it was the satyr. Now there were two creatures that could detect him. "You made it! You-"

He froze as he saw the teachers. "Oh Ms. Gottschalk! Dr. Thorn! I, uh-"

"What is it Mr. Underwood?" It was clear the Manticore detested the satyr. He could not blame him for that. "What do you mean, they made it? These students live here."

The satyr was picking at straws now. "Yes sir. Of course Dr. Thorn. I just meant..."_Good. Good._ "I'm so glad they made..." _Come on. _"The punch for the dance!"

Leo internally groaned at the satyr's weak excuse for hir reaction. Seriously, aren't satyrs supposed to have the skills of good liars when trying to get a demigod towards Camp Half-Blood?

A few sentences later, he followed the demigods stealthily as they made their way towards doors labeled GYM. He leaned against the wall nearby as he listened to the demigods talk about the children of Hades. He watched as the several of the partygoers kicked balloons in front of other's face, or tried to strangle them with the streamers. He rolled his eyes. _Boys. _Not only because he thought they were a bunch of idiots, but with having Apollo reciting Haikus that nearly make you want to kill yourself, and adding that it was a man who had tortured him, well, he had no sympathy with them. Only Hermes was his exception,since he was kind of awesome (as his patrons believed) as a caretaker.

Still, he could not help but wince as the girls surrounded one of the boys like babies going for the last cookie, shrieking and giggling as they would leave the guy with ribbons in his hair and lipstick all over his face, like a Ken Doll gone wrong.

He caught a snippet of the conversation, "Ugh. Who chose the Jesse McCartney?"

"I did."

"Oh my gods Grover. That is so lame. Can't you play like Green Day or something?"

"Green who?" Leo had to prevent himself from yelling "BLASPHEMY!" and beat the shit out of the satyr.

"Never mind. Let's dance."

"But I can't dance!"

"You can if I'm leading. Come on, goat boy."

Leo showed himself as the last two demigods made their way into the gym. Leo decided this was the time to slip into the dance floor as he easily mixed in with the other teenagers, making his way to the three furies. He had to dodge the _Loca Chicas_ army several times, and avoided getting in the mix of the boys who were still 'using' the streamers. Finally, he made his way towards the corner where the three furies waited.

"Where are they?" he asked them.

"They are by the bleachers, young master." Alecto hissed out as she looked towards Percy Jackson and Annabeth Chase with disgust. the couple slow-dancing in the distance.

"Alecto. First of all, don't call me master please. Second of all, watch over the demigods. I'll try to get your master's children out of here safely." Sadly once again, his luck proved its infamous streak.

The moment he was getting close to them, he got pulled out of the dance floor, being tugged by the hand as he was now in the entrance near the gym. He groaned as he saw that it was the satyr, who was literally red with fury. "Now, I don't know what you are but please p-"

He got silenced as Leo aimed a kick at the Satyr's gut, making him lose the air in his lungs. He continued to punch the satyr in the face, the satyr covering his nose, until Leo gave the satyr a well-aimed uppercut, knocking him out. He grabbed a set of ropes that he had found in the demigod's supplies and tied the satyr's hands to his back. The demigods would find themselves helpless if the satyr ever came in a need of help, but that was not necessary. It was his job to prove that his patrons had chosen him well, a boy who was, before they found him, was helpless with the first werewolf at his tail, with a permanent taboo in his powers.

True, he had used them in the battle against the three heroes and Apollo, (it was tradition that Hestia would not be harmed, since his experience in the past with women. It was also due to the fact that there would be hell to pay if Olympus ever got wind of the eldest Olympian being harmed.) but he was using the fire Hestia had summoned, not his own. A small loophole in his resignation.

He entered the gym to go towards the bleachers that his targets were in, only to find them relatively empty. At a closer look, there were a few cards laying in the cold metal in vibrant reds and sickly greens. Nearby was a green floppy hat. All belonged to his targets. He looked around the gym, only to see not a single hint of where they went.

Damn that Satyr!

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><p><strong>Percy Jackson sneaked past the<strong> corridors of Westover Hall with Riptide in hand as he was in pursuit of Dr. Thorn, who had taken Bianca and Nico Di Angelo with him. He heard the sound of scuffling, along with a grunt of pain. He uncapped Riptide, the bronze gleaming in the darkness. He jogged down the corridor, only to find not a single trace of the Vice Principal and the Di Angelos. He opened the door, and tried to overcome his shock that he was back in the main entry hall. He saw in the other side of the room were the Di Angelo kids. They stood in horror, staring right at him.

He advanced slowly, lowering the tip of the sword. "It's okay. I'm not going to hurt you."

They didn't answer. Both of their eyes were wide with fear. Was he really that scary?

What was wrong with them? He knew he felt as scared as Hades when he had seen his first monster, but people always had a reason for what they got scared for. But where was Dr. Thorn?

Maybe he sensed Riptide, he thought. Monsters always hated celestial bronze.

"My name is Percy. I'm going to take you out of here, get you somewhere safe." he somehow stopped fear from leaking into his tone.

Bianca's eyes widened. Her fists clenched, as she was fighting with herself. It was too late as he realized that _was_ what Bianca was going through. She was not afraid of him or the sword. She was trying to warn her. He spun around as an object passed him, the speed of the shot making it barely visible. Pain swept past him in wildfire. A hand yanked him from the kids and slammed him into the brick wall.

His eyes widened with fear as he saw his best friend Grover, hands tied behind his back and muttering in his sleep "FOOOOD."

He slashed with his sword, but it hit nothing except thin air. Cold laughter echoed throughout the hall.

"Yes, Perseus Jackson. I know who you are, and what the leader is expecting from you." said Dr. Thorn with relish.

He tried to free his shoulder. Both his coat and shirt to the wall by something. A black spike about a foot long. It had cut into some of his skin, making the onslaught of pain even worse. He remembered his experience of nearly being killed by the Luke's pit scorpion, the memory revealing what was slowly killing him. Poison.

He forced himself to concentrate. He did not come all this way just to pass out. Dr. Thorn emerged from the shadows, and muttered, "Thank you for coming out of the gym. I hate middle school dances. And trying to shake off Hades' minions."

_What? _

He recovered from his shock and tried to swing his sword once again, but he was too far from Riptide. Another spike passed him, but he could not see where it was coming from. Bianca yelped with fear as the thorn had digged deep into the wall, an inch from her face.

"All three of you will come with me. Silently. Obediently. If I hear anything from you, try to communicate you petty allies or rebel, I will show you just how close you are to death." His mind picked up when he said three. It was clear, by sheer luck, he had not noticed his best friend.

He didn't know what type of monster Dr. Thorn was, but he was fast. He could try to draw his shield and use it to defend himself. But what about the Di Angelo kids? They were a completely different matter. He needed his friends, and there was only one way he could get help. But not now, when they were inside. Thorn herded them outside, and that was when he put his crazy plan in motion. He concentrated, and focused on the image of Grover's face, and the feelings of fear and danger. He closed his eyes, drawing on the empathy link Grover had made for him last summer.

"What are you doing Jackson? Keep moving!" yelled out Dr. Thorn.

He opened his eyes and walked forward."It's my shoulder. It hurts."He lied, trying to sound like he was in pain. Not like it was hard to try.

"Bah. My poison causes pain. It will not kill you. Walk!"

He never tried sending a message to Grover. But he was sure, if he focused hard enough, his message would get to him.

_Hey Grover! Thorn's kidnapping us! He's a poisonous spike throwing maniac! Help! _he thought.

_FOOOOOOOOOOOOD. _Grover thought back.

We slowly entered the woods, following a snow-stuffed path that was barely lit by old lanterns. His shoulder throbbed, the ice-cold temperature not helping.

"There is a clearing ahead," Thorn said. "A greeting party, along with your escorts, are waiting for you."

At this point, he tried anything to get Grover's attention. _Grover! Apples! Tin Cans! Get your furry behind down here and bring some heavily armed friends!_

"Halt." Thorn said.

Percy sank in despair as he saw that the clearing, nearly filled to the brim with monsters. Dracaena, Cyclopes, Empousai, roamed the cliff side, overlooking the sea. At least, he could _sense _the sea. Dr Thorn pushed us towards the edge, the monsters cheering as he stumbled, but Bianca had caught him.

"Thanks." He whispered

"What _is _he?" she whispered back. "How do we fight them?"

"I... I'm working on it."

"Bi, you know we can't stand up to these things." Nico said. He was fiddling with something - a little metal soldier. For a second, he saw the glint of gold coming from it.

"Stop talking!" Dr. Thorn said. "Face me!"

They turned.

The monster pulled something from his coat, only for the gleam of black to show a cellphone. He pressed the side button and said, "The package - it is ready to deliver."

He glanced behind him. Perhaps he could jump into the sea and save himself.

Dr. Thorn, realizing this, laughed, along with the monsters. "By all means, Poseidon spawn, Jump! Our lieutenant will kill you before you even make it." bellowed a cyclops.

"What did he call you?" Bianca muttered.

"I'll explain later." I said.

"You do have a plan, right?"

_Grover, come to me! _he thought desperately.

"Oh, how I would love to kill you. Sadly, you have been spoken for. Otherwise, I would let my fellow monsters feast on your flesh."

"Who wants us?" Bianca demanded, her eyes getting a bit teary. "If you want a ransom, that is where you're wrong. Nico and I... There is no one left for us."

For a moment, he may have perhaps seen a flicker for pity coming from the monster, though it was clear he was hallucinating with the sickly sweet tone he used next. "Aww, do not worry little brats. You will be meeting our employer soon enough. A place for when you can actually belong."

Percy had to bite back a retort.

Dr. Thorn looked towards the horizon, "Ah, here we are. Your transportation." he said, followed by the chopping of helicopters.

"Where are you taking us?" Nico demanded.

"As I said brat, a place where you belong. You will be able to join a great army, much like that mythomagic game of yours."

"You can take your great army and shove it up your fuc -" a stream of severe language left Nico's mouth, while Bianca tried to silence him.

"Now now," Dr. Thorn scolded, like he was a baby sitter. "You will change your opinion. And if you do not... well, there are many mouths to feed. The Great Stirring is underway." he pointed towards the monsters, which cheered at the talk of demigod chow.

"The great what?" He asked. Anything to keep him talking while his friends were underway.

"The stirring of monsters. The vilest, the most powerful monsters are awakening. They will cause chaos that it would make destruction made by Zeus' master bolt seem like a bug zapper. And soon, the most vital will rise. The one that will confirm our victory!"

He saw hidden behind the trees, Grover, who cradled his nose as blood gushed from it like a waterfall. Thalia, whose shield, Aegis was on her arm. He fell as an invisible force knocked them over. For a split second, the monsters paralyzed as Thalia charged in, spear and shield on her. The monsters cowered at the sight of the shield, but they quickly recovered as they realized, _Hey, there's only five of them and one hundred of us, plus a helicopter on the way! _

He slashed along with Thalia and Annabeth as they tried to kill the monsters, but they were quickly overwhelmed at the sheer man power. Grover played a quick jig on his reed pipes, and grass burst through the snow, but the plants were down as quickly as they appeared. He gasped as claws dug into his shoulder, but not from Dr. Thorn.

A piercing screech rang out through the clearing from a dracaena, as it slowly disappeared. Where it once stood, there was a golden star. That was when he saw him.

Standing on the tallest pine tree, there was a mirage of a tall guy. He wore a hooded cloak jacket, which it's colors often shifted from warm reds, to soft yellows, to shining golds, and vibrant oranges. His eyes widened as he realized they were clearly produced by fire. He sprung from the tree in a comet-like nature, the heat from his cloak melting the snow into slush. Dr. Thorn jumped behind the army, until they faced him.

He turned towards them. "It's going to be alright." he said comfortingly, but there was a hidden steel in his tone.

He drawed a pair of hunting knives, each one half crescent moons with a golden sphere in the middle glowing vibrantly. His cloak glowed, until it evaporated, revealing a head filled with black curls, each ones' tips dyed in

The monsters eyed him warily, until a cyclops charged at him, club raised until it met empty air. He turned around with in confusion, until a gasp from him followed, until he sank, and evaporated into dust. The guy had stabbed him in the back. The monsters charged at him, only for ten in the front line to evaporate with a storm of ninja stars.

That's was when the helicopter appeared, sleek black, and started shooting at them, but he watched in awe as the mystery dude disappeared, for just a second, and there he was, hanging on the lower rails that let the vehicle land, and swung himself at the doors, clinging against the wind up there. He pulled open the door, and climbed in. Percy didn't see the struggle, but he saw several men drop out of the helicopter. The machine swung violently into the air, until it fell into the ocean nearby.

His eyes winced, thinking the mystery boy had met his death, but Hades, it was one way to go. Percy probably had mastered the gobsmacked look as the air shimmered between him and the monsters, until it revealed the mystery boy who jumped back into the fray.

The others joined in the fight, but it was the mystery dude who did most of the killing, stabbing and spinning in place with both knifes out when the monsters got too close. He wasn't that bad. Soon, silver arrows joined in the fight, until only the manticore stood near the cliff side. Then, the source of the arrows appeared. They were girls, about a dozen of them. The youngest one was probably eight years old.

The oldest one was probably fourteen, with a circlet of silver in her hair, the same age as him and the mystery boy. "The hunters!" yelled Annabeth.

Next to him, Thalia muttered "Oh, wonderful."

"This is not fair! Direct Interference! It is against the ancient laws." The monster wailed.

"Shut it monster." growled the boy. "The hunters have the right to hunt any monster or beast. And you count as one of them."

"Permission to kill milady?" asked the fourteen year old girl.

She turned towards a twelve-year old girl. At a closer look, the girl had auburn hair, with silvery eyes. She nodded and said, "Zoë, permission granted."

The monster snarled. "If I cannot have these alive, I will have one of you dead!"

He watched as the monster lunged at the girl with the circlet and grabbed her. "No!" Annabeth yelled, and charged at the monsters.

"Get back, Half-Blood!" the silver-eyed girl nearly screeched with fear and horror, "Get out of the line of fire!"

But Annabeth leaped and drove her dagger into the monster.

"Fire!"

"No!"

But the hunters let their arrows fly. After a few arrows hit the monster, with the girl on his clutches and Annabeth still on his back, he leaped and fell into the darkness. That was all he saw, as the mystery boy ran forward and with a forward flip, dived into the darkness also.

"Annabeth!" he yelled.

The hunters looked at the cliff tragically, seeing as their lieutenant had fallen down into the darkness. Artemis wiped the tears of her eyes, as she had just lost her most valuable friend. Never the less, she shook her head with anger at the stupid boy. He had joined death, along with the Annabeth girl and Zoë. She looked at the ground in shock, trying to get over her lieutenant's death. She had served her well for millenia, ever since she found him near the mountains in Greece.

That was when she heard the noise. Like a pulled string, then shot. She heard it sink into the stone, and she ran and looked over the cold snow. There it was. The head of an arrow. and a string attached to it. Slowly, the Hunters of Artemis and the quest members looked over the cliff. The arrow slowly tugged the string upwards, pulling up who ever shot it. The seconds seemed to last for infinities, until finally they backed away as they saw whoever was holding into the string. Percy prayed to the gods that whoever tried to rescue them had saved Annabeth.

Soon, they could see the mystery boy with someone in his arms. The groups held their breaths, waiting to see who the demigod rescued. Artemis had to resist the temptation to hug the boy as tears stained her eyes. The boy had clearly saved Zoë. But that was not all. The boy layed down Zoë into the snow as he started to pull medical supplies from thin air.

He turned to the group with a death glare. "Wow, so you guys are just going to stand there and lazy around while she clearly needs medical attention. I'm so grateful."

The joke shook them out of the stupor. They all came rushing towards her as they realized that she was bleeding from various places. "What happened to her?" demanded Artemis.

"Manticore spike. The bastard was able to lodge one in her back while I tried to save her. I was able to take it out from her ribcage without doing any damage. The manticore also got your friend's dagger and stabbed her in the back. I was not able to rescue her." He said as he was now taking some ambrosia and nectar, and water in a canteen.

He handed a half of an ambrosia cube the girl who ate it with vigor, while he grabbed some nectar. He poured some water in to the wound, and crushed the other half in his hand. He poured the nectar on the ambrosia, turning it into a paste. He split the paste in two, spreading one half over the spike wound, while putting the rest into the knife wound. He finally backed off, and bowed to Artemis.

Still, she armed her bow, along with the other members of the hunt. Even Zoë had aimed a silver arrow at the demigod's head.

"My apologies, Lady Artemis." Leo said immediately.

That still did not shake off the arrows for him. "Who are you?" she asked.

"My name is Leo Valdez." he replied.

"What business do you have here?" she questioned.

"I am here to pick up the demigods before the quest members could have picked them up. That is, until I was... interrupted." he shot a dirty look towards Grover.

Artemis' eyes narrowed. "So you work for Hades, boy?"

"Yes, Lady Artemis. But it was just to pay off a debt for the training I got to fulfill my role."

"Then you shall join the children of Hades when I bring them to Olympus." Artemis ordered.

"My charges have committed no crimes. I will go with you to Olympus if you let them go." Leo looked at the goddess with valor.

"You dare bargain with me boy?" her silver eyes brightened, one of the many signs that she was going to turn him into a jackalope.

"After what your father did, I can sympathize with them. They were lucky that they had support from the father. I had to run away from orphanages and monsters until my patrons took me in." he added.

"I care not for your past. And you have nothing to get me to sign my part of the deal."

He aimed a look of cleverness that would have made Athena proud, "Well. I'm sure your father will not be satisfied by the fact that you let Hades' minions bring down your half-sister into their Lord's realm. The same would go for your uncle and your half-brother if his satyr and son go with them. But then again, they show the arrogance shown by any boy, so they will matter very little to me." he gestured to the three demigods, who were in the claws of the furies, a safe thirty yards from the group.

Artemis knew that, as much as she hated it, the boy had cornered him in the argument. If she did not stand down, well, the pit was always open for everyone. It did not help her argument of the fact that he had a genuine hatred for men. Still, she sent a murderous glare towards the boy.

"You will pay dearly for this boy." she gestured for the two demigods who had approached the mercenary Hades sent to take them to him. They both seemed to the brink of fainting at the mess centered around them.

Leo sent a 'peace' sign towards the furies, who stepped closer towards Nico and Bianca before shoving Percy to the goddess, and grabbed them, vanishing into the shadows along with her sister.

The satyr marched towards Leo before putting the reed pipes to his mouth and blowing a quick jig. Grass burst through the snow and enwrapped his legs and arms until his entire body, except for his head surrounded plants. He was able to get this for five seconds until the grass burst into flames, and Leo smirked at Grover, whose mouth could have stored a pot.

Grover aimed a punch towards Leo, but Leo grabbed the fist. He pulled the satyr towards him, and launched a fist at his chest, cracking a rib or two. He then used the momentum to flip the satyr on his back and left him looking sky-high. Percy entered the fist fight. Despite the fact that Grover's actions were unreasonable, he was not letting this random guy beat up his best friend. He slashed Riptide into the demigod, only for him to spin to the right while grabbing the sword from his hand.

He pulled the son of Poseidon to him before driving his fist into his nose. At the same time, Leo grabbed the boy's wrist that was holding the sword and brought his fist from his face to the teenager's forearm, breaking it with a sickening crack. Percy dropped to his knees in pain before kicking him in his chest, knocking him on his back.

Leo turned towards the wide-eyed Artemis until he bowed in front of the goddess. "I'm sorry Lady Artemis, but the two boys clearly needed to learn their place." He said respectfully before holding out his hands towards the goddess.

Artemis snapped her fingers and celestial bronze chains bonded Leo's hands.

After some long time, which the hunters and Artemis set up camp on the woods near the boarding school, along with tending the wounds of the two injured _boys _reluctantly, did Artemis teleport herself and Leo to Olympus. They appeared in front of the entrance to the throne room where Artemis pushed him through the doors. He nearly fell through the doors and faceplanting to the floor, but was able to keep his balance. Percy came face to face with twelve surprised Olympian gods and goddesses . Artemis roughly kicked him towards the middle of the room and was about to sit on her throne before a voice made her froze in place.

"How dare you treat my son like that in my presence?" Bellowed a male voice towards an astonished Artemis.


	3. Discussing Futures and Shit Goes Down

_Song for the Chapter: Your Lips Are Moving by Meghan Trainor_

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><p><em>They appeared in front of the entrance to the throne room where Artemis pushed him through the doors. He nearly fell through the doors and faceplanting to the floor, but was able to keep his balance. Leo came face to face with twelve surprised Olympian gods and goddesses . Artemis roughly kicked him towards the middle of the room and was about to sit on her throne before a voice made her freeze in place.<em>

_"How dare you treat my son like that in my presence?" Bellowed a male voice towards an astonished Artemis._

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><p>Nearly all eyes darted towards Hermes, who was facing his half-sister, caduceus in hand. Artemis suddenly felt way out of depth, since she thought the boy was the son of a minor god, the ones who were Hades' servants. It was a completely different thing to mess with the son of a member of the council. Still, she was not going to let the boys get any satisfaction of surprising her.<p>

"Don't worry father. Despite that I am in chains, I followed her willingly." Leo mentioned as he smirked at the faces of the confused Olympians, except Apollo and Hermes who mischievously smiled.

"Then how come you're still here?" asked Athena, wondering how someone could be here willingly, but still be in chains.

Leo's smirk widened as he pulled on the chains, revealing his free hands, while the shackles rested in his right hand.

"It was better that Artemis would not worry about not having an escapee on hand, though these were rather easy to get away from." He said as the shackles clattered to the ground.

"Who are you?" yelled Zeus after shaking off his confusion.

Leo faced the King of Olympus. "I am Leo Valdez, son of Hermes and Hestia."

"Shit, Rabbit's out of the hat." Hermes cursed and glared playfully as his father faced him, "HERMES! HOW DARE YOU TAKE A MAIDEN GODDESS' CHASTITY!"

Zeus and the other Olympians except Apollo aimed their sacred symbols at Hermes, until surprisingly, it was Artemis who stepped in front of Hermes. "Father, it cannot be. As goddess of virginity, I would be able to detect Hestia losing her virginity."

"She is right Lord Zeus. I am the _adopted _son of Hermes, and I consider myself as a son of Hestia since she is the motherly figure in my life, as well as my patron." Leo added, calming down the angry sky god.

The goddess of the Hearth walked out of the central fire in the throne room pecked Leo in the cheek. "He is right Lord Zeus. I still am a maiden, and always will. But that does not mean I can adopt children."

"But that still does not make sense. If you are Hestia's champion, then why were you working for Hades?" questioned Athena. The discussion making her mind speed up, trying to put the pieces together.

"My patron is an important friend for Hades. Add that my father wanted me to get proper training for my future role, and with Hades having the best trainers, well, my mission was to bring them to Hades so they can know their father before Ms. Huntress here could bring them to your father as a way to pay my debt towards him for the training." Leo said, relieving Athena of the migraine she was getting.

"Just one question. Who are your real parents?" Zeus asked.

"For my mother, Esperanza Valdez. She died when I was eight." he said as he shot a look of pure hatred towards Hephaestus, who was tinkering with gears until he mentioned his mother. He perked up immediately.

"My real father is Hermes." he shot another look of hatred towards the now pale god of the forge.

Ares caught the looks and turned to his brother, barely holding the smile from his face. "Wow, brother. You sure are a chip of the old block."

Hephaestus ignored his brother's teasing and looked at Leo, "Leo, you are my son. I.." He started before fury shrouded Leo's eyes.

"You are no father of mine Hephaestus." Leo spat as Hermes and Hestia walked towards their adopted son._  
><em>

Hephaestus eyes sank as he heard Leo's tone of anger. "Leo, the ancient laws stopped me from seeing you. I could have aided you if the laws did not restrict me."

Leo's face darkened as light started to shroud him. His eyes were at the point of combustion as he looked at Hephaestus with loathing, "That is a bunch of drakonshit. You could have helped us if you were not searching the next mortal to fall in love with when I was born. I don't care about what you think Hephaestus. You will never be related to me. If you were not a god, I would kill you for what you did to my mother."

Ares watched by the sidelines with glee as he saw his brother being torn apart strip by strip before his father decided to kill him or not. He seriously hoped he didn't. The boy was already in his allies list if he was ever in a tough fight. Also, the boy radiated immense power.

Hephaestus looked at Leo sadly, "Leo you know there was no way I could help you against monster attacks."

"Who said there never were any monster attacks?" Leo said.

Nearly everyone got confused at that, except Apollo, Hermes, and Hestia. Athena was scrambling once again to figure out what really happened, until she finally decided to ask Leo.

"What do you mean? Could you tell us?" she asked, and Leo's face was suddenly tragic.

"Sadly, no. It would tell you enough about the future, and everybody knows that would be bad." a small tear leaked through his right eye.

"Leo, I still could not help you."

"Shut that hell-hound crap. You gods, well, except Hermes, can interfere all you want with mortals, but gods forbid you actually have to grow a spine and help them. Where were you when I was locked in a basement after my mother's death, tortured every night with a man's wife and without food? Where were you when my family rejected me, and pinned her death on me? Where were you, when after finally escaping that hell-hole, I was chased by Lycaon, the Nemean Lion, and the Minotaur?" Leo ranted at a paralyzed Hephaestus.

Hephaestus stared at Leo for a minute, until Hephaestus stood from his throne and raised his hammer at Leo. Before anyone react, a beam of light wrapped Hephaestus' hand and changed the aim of the hammer towards a throne. There stood the sun-god Apollo, whose bow stood straight at Hephaestus.

"How dare you try to kill my Champion, _brother_?" Apollo spat the word like he had swallowed poison. Artemis swore this was the only time she saw her brother acting seriously. It was also the first time she also felt over her head after being reckless and not asking the champion about his patrons.

Hephaestus was too shocked by Apollo's actions, so he continued, "Leo has suffered more than any demigod I've met. He is guilty of no crime, except that he pointing out that you used the ancient laws as a shield against the consequences of your actions."

Hestia had taken the opportunity and pulled Leo towards the hearth, and the fire shifted into a throne, and Hestia sat him on her lap, now twelve feet tall.

"How can he speak so much of his father disrespectfully?" Hephaestus yowled.

Hermes aimed the Caduceus and the staff shifted, until it turned into the self-christened laser mode. "He is not your son Hephaestus. Hestia and I adopted him after he had run away for three years."

In order to bring some order, Zeus slammed his bolt into the throne room floor, successfully silencing the room.

"Enough! You have a throne, sit in it and shut up! We will all discuss this with order." Zeus thundered.

Everyone did as told, though Hermes kept his caduceus in laser mode, while Leo sat calmly on the lap of Hestia, eating a bowl of cereal. Demeter could not help but notice, and just that he ate his cereal added some good points in her book.

"Now, I want to know how this demigod entered the care of Hestia and my sons." Zeus asked as the room finally gained some silence.

Hermes stood up. "The events began about two years ago. From what Apollo and Hestia told me, they were both having a discussion near the outskirts of Las Vegas when they saw Leo being chased by Lycaon. After looking at his memories and addressing his wounds, Apollo and Hestia convinced me to raise Leo as he had enough hardships in life, with some... mental scars. Then, we met at Paris, where they allowed me to see his memories."

Apollo continued, "There was no prophecy for the child at the moment, but my Oracle gave hints that told us that Leo will have a difficult, challenging future. Seeing as Hermes was the most right for training and an idyllic childhood, we handed Leo to Hermes, while Hestia checked on him weekly. Hermes was able to negotiate a contract with Hades for training, but on the sole standard that Leo had to do a quest for him. Though he also mentioned that any men that have been abusive, or prejudiced against women also have a punishment worse than Tartarus."

"Why the last part?" Artemis asked.

"My mother was often turned down from a job despite that she had a diploma because she was never taken seriously since she was a woman. Before she died, she was trying to make a drill bit and patent it, in order for us to make millions. Who killed her made it seem like I started the fire that took her life. My past nanny did not help me." he turned towards Hera and waved, "Hola Tia."

For the first time the Olympians had ever seen, there were tears in Hera's eyes as she realized it was her fault for the police believing that Leo had killed his own mother, and thus pushing events forward into this situation. Artemis could not help but glance at Leo with a bit of shock, and mainly guilt. The boy was clearly the polar opposite of many men she had seen for thousands of years, and she had gotten him to get killed, either by Zeus or by Hephaestus. On the other side, she felt like filling Hephaestus' crotch with arrows.

Zeus wrapped an arm around Hera in comfort while he faced Artemis, "Artemis, could you tell us what happened in Maine?"

Pulling herself out of her brooding, Artemis faced her father. "My hunters and I were at the school in search of the two demigods, only to find them, along with Thalia, Annabeth, the satyr, and Poseidon's boy surrounded by monsters who were preparing an ambush against the demigods. My hunters were about to help them until Leo intervened and entered the fight. Given a chance to escape death, the group except Poseidon's boy, who was trapped in the claws of a fury, joined the fight. I told my hunters to aid them until we got rid of every monster, then question my younger brother's champion on hs identity and cause for being in Maine. He reached the manticore as my lieutenant was about to finish it off. The manticore lunged at Zoë, and Annabeth charged the manticore and stabbed it in the back. I told my hunters to shoot at the monster, but before it could be killed, it jumped off the cliff with both girls. Leo dived down the cliff and was able to rescue Zoë, but not without letting her get injured by the manticore. He brought her back to us and tended her wounds."

Artemis had to take a breather, then continued, "We also interrogated him, but he was not alone. Hades' minions had captured Thalia, the Satyr, and the son of Poseidon. He said that if we do not let the twins go, he would let the furies take the three demigods into the underworld. He also proposed that we would take him to Olympus in exchange for them. Which leads us to now."

All the gods looked at Leo slightly startled, while Leo looked at Artemis curiously, but when he did not get he glanced at Demeter. The grain goddess beamed at Leo and refilled his cereal bowl merrily.

"And what of Thalia's remaining companions?" Zeus asked, and Athena could not help but wince at the word remaining.

"The Satyr has a couple of broken ribs and a bloody nose. Poseidon's boy has a broken forearm, and a bloody nose. Both were inevitable since the satyr attacked Leo, the son of Poseidon following his best friend."

"You dare attack my son?" yelled Poseidon.

Artemis rolled her eyes, "You're son attacked Leo without reason, except it was because his best friend got pummeled when Leo defended himself from the satyr. He's lucky, I was about to turn both of them into jackalopes."

Poseidon shot Leo a bitter look. Ares, Dionysus, and some of the other Olympians chuckled at the thought of Percy getting his butt kicked. Zeus cleared his throat, and all eyes landed at him.

"Now, we need to decide what to become of this boy. If he ever decides to turn from Olympus and to the Titan's side, he could easily be a threat to Olympus. Other than the ties he has with Hermes and Apollo, he has no connection to Olympus. It could be the best choice to kill him now." Zeus said carelessly from his ego-sized throne.

He was not surprised to see many of the Olympians except Poseidon and Dionysus glare at him.

"The boy will not betray Olympus. I will vouch for my grandson's loyalty." Hera said, making Zeus' eyes widen.

Hermes gave a grateful smile to his mother-law.

Athena looked at Leo with a warm curiosity, like he was a glass doll, before lifting her head. "I believe this might be the most powerful asset Olympus will ever have since the days of Hercules, father. While he may hate Hephaestus and is not fond of the male Olympians in the council, but he has no animosity against the council. He is trained by some of greatest heroes of legend, including one of my favored. He is clearly not the prophecy child, so he may pose no threat in that matter, but he clearly could be a last option should something ever happen to Thalia, Percy Jackson, or the Di Angelo twins."

"We cannot let the boy roam freely. He could be captured and forced to betray us." Zeus shot back.

"Then we will send him to Camp Half-Blood." All eyes widened as they saw who was showing this. "I will claim Leo and he can stay in my cabin, if he wants." Hera proposed.

Zeus sat on his throne, pondering what to do until Athena walked over and whispered to her father's ear. Zeus slowly listened, until he nodded.

"Very well." Zeus said, "All in favor killing the boy now?"

Only Dionysus and Poseidon were the only people who raised their hands, and they were on the receiving ends of many death glares from the council.

"All for letting the boy live and letting him stay in Camp Half-Blood?" he demanded.

Nine hands rose from the council, only Hephaestus abstained. He disliked the way Leo talked about him, but he still felt guilty from letting him live such a horrible life.

"Good. Mr. Valdez will stay in Camp Half-Blood." Zeus declared.

Hestia raised her hand from her throne. "Lord Zeus?"

Zeus nodded in Hestia's direction.

"What of my brother's children? They do not have a single clue they are demigods, and they are not a threat to us in the coming war. Will they be able to go to camp as well?" Hestia inquired.

Zeus realized he had forgotten about the children of Hades, "We do not know of their future allegiance. Why were they not brought to Olympus?"

"I thought it would matter most for you that I go to Olympus. I promise that I will make sure that they will be Olympus' allies, and will watch over them when I am not on a quest. " Leo stood from Hestia's lap.

"You will also be held guilty and charged for treason with them if they ever decide to side with the Titans of course?" Zeus asked.

"I assure you, I will confirm that they are on our side. I do not know much about them, but I can understand them from what happened to their mother. " he said, and gave a pointed glare to the lord of Olympus.

Athena saw the glare, and finally realized what happened to Leo's mother. She mentally made a note to herself to ask Leo on that after the meeting.

"Very well, Mr. Valdez. The children's allegiance will be your responsibility." Zeus replied, though a bit of sweat was dripping from his forehead.

"Artemis, you are leaving soon for your assignment, am I right?" Zeus asked.

"Yes father."

"Then you will send Mr. Valdez, along with your hunters and the other demigods to Camp Half-Blood. Please promise that he, along with the other men, are not killed by your hunters while travelling." Zeus instructed.

Everyone looked at Artemis, expecting her to erupt, but instead was calm and nodded.

"Very well. Council dismissed." Zeus disappeared along with some of the members of the council, except Athena, Hera, Ares, Artemis, Apollo, Hephaestus, and Hermes.

Hephaestus stood from his throne and glared angrily at the trio near Leo, "How dare you adopt my child without my recognition?"

Hermes stared calmly back at his brother, "I simply gave Leo a choice. He chose happily, rather having me than waiting for you to finally catch up on him." Leo muttered silently "_hallelujah!"_

"You know I was forbidden from contacting him by the ancient laws."

"But that does not mean you could have watched over him or lead him to a satyr that could have brought him to Camp or allies. Your sister did that for Annabeth. Hermes here did it for Luke. Even my brother led his daughter Thalia to them, and stopped her from being dead through turning her to a tree that has protected Camp Half-Blood for years. Yet look at all your _other _children. Every single one was and is now at Camp Half-Blood safe from monsters and mortals for years, while Leo was in the middle of a hell-hole for two of those years. You are clearly in the charge of favoritism." Hestia argued.

Hephaestus gripped his hammer and moved menacingly to Leo, only for the five gods and goddesses to stand protectively in front of Leo, who still sat stoically in his adopted mother's lap, eating his Fruit Loops.

"This is far from over brother. You will pay for turning my son against me." He threatened at the messenger god, before disappearing in a blizzard of gears.

"Congratulations, cousin. I think this is the only time I've never seen Hephaestus so pissed in millennia." Ares said as he vanished as a beam of blood-red light.

"Don't do anything completely both A) Awesome B) Foolish C) Lame or D)Just pure stupid, Leo. The campers will test you, and last thing I need is a situation between another Olympian, you already have an enemy with the blacksmith. Last thing we need is the others going for you just because you killed their son/daughter." Hermes said skeptically as he flew away in his winged shoes, patting Leo in the back just before he was out of sight.

Apollo turned around to the three goddesses, "Okay women, what do you want from Leo?"

"No need to worry my patron, I'm sure they mean nothing foul against me." Leo assured Apollo.

"I just need a word with Leo."

"I also need to talk to him, but I'm afraid the matter is quite vital and private."

"I just want warn him to stay away from my hunters, brother. He might hate men, but I don't want him to flirt with them."

"Lady Artemis, I swear I will not flirt with your hunters on the River Styx unless it is by accident, and that they flirt with me first or that they flirt back." Leo said, and thunder rumbled loudly across the throne room.

"Lady Athena, Grandmother, I believe your topics all regard the same matter." Leo said as he hopped from Hestia's lap as Hestia turned back into human height, along with the other three goddesses.

Hera and Athena led the way, while Artemis turned around to meet the warm eyes of Hestia.

"Can I be sure my champion, and adopted son, is safe in the journey with your hunters niece?" Hestia said with a hidden warning in her voice.

"The boy seems respectful enough, he did save my lieutenant from a fate worse than death, the fact that he hates men other from his father and Apollo is a bonus, while he has sworn an oath not to flirt with them just guarantees that there are not any arguments or fights. I don't see any problems happening." Artemis shrugged.

"Good." She turned towards Leo, who was near the doors of the throne room, "You have made me proud, my son. The hearth will always be there when you need it, just like I am there for you." she sent a warm smile to Leo.

Leo stopped and walked towards his mother/patron, and kissed her on the cheek. _"Bye, mother._" Leo said in spanish, and Hestia waved happily as she turned to continue fueling the hearth.

Leo had to force himself from releasing a tear as he walked to the three goddesses who were gaping at the scene of intimacy. They had always heard from Hestia that she wanted nothing involving acting as a mother, but this was the first time they had seen her doing something, well, _motherly, _towards a demigod. Oh sure, Hestia would feed demigods that ever met her and offer some comfort, but this was the first time they had seen past those walls.

"Lead the way." Leo said, knocking the three Olympians out of their daze.

They led Leo to a courtyard filled with various roses, violets, narcissi, and hyacinths, bubbling rivers and woods. A small bronze plaque read 'Persephone's Garden' along with a golden brazier. Leo picked a small packet of chocolate chip cookies, one he always got from Hestia, and tossed them to the brazier.

"To the Lady Persephone." he muttered, and the packet of cookies burst into flames.

He could vaguely see the smoke from the fire descend from Mount Olympus and down to the ground as he stared into the fire. Suddenly, he put his hand into the fire, and where the chocolate cookies once stood, was a red rose, more beautiful than the others in the garden. '_Για το μέλλον σας αγαπημένη' _carved in gold on the stem. He pocketed the rose, secretly smiling to himself at what the engraving really meant. The goddesses each sat in separate benches in a closed square formation, and Leo picked the only one that was open, thinking that they would take offense if he sat close to them.

"Care to tell me how you got out of those chains, Leo? " Artemis asked, while Athena had a similar gleam of curiosity in her eyes.

"Houdini was a son of Hermes. He was able to escape even the Pit of Tartarus without any aid," explained Leo.

Artemis and Hera internally face-palmed, while Athena felt like smacking her head into the wall. She was important as the wisdom goddess, yet a male demigod had kept something secret from her. This only increased her amount of respect for the boy, the beginning was when he started throwing insults. After the handkerchief incident, Athena was itching to do that for centuries. Though there was still the matter of what god or goddess had killed Leo's mother. Zeus and Hera were out of the question.

Hephaestus loved the woman, and she herself had not struck down any mortals except Arachne. Artemis woud never kill a single woman, and why would Apollo offer the place of Champion to someone whose mother he killed? Dyonisus would probably do it, knowing how much he hated demigods after Theseus broke Ariadne's heart. Hermes never hurt a woman, and Hades offered training for the boy, checking him out of the list. The only tolerable fact was that Ares never hurt a woman, only his domain hurt those that chose to take part in war. Demeter was mainly peaceful, so no reason to kill the woman.

She finally turned to Leo."Okay, spill." ordered Athena.

"Excuse me, what?"

"I saw you glare at Zeus. I know someone, a god or goddess I think, killed your mother. Who was it?" demanded Athena.

"I prefered you wished to search my memories, Lady Artemis, Lady Athena, Grandmother. I do not like to relive them." Leo shrugged, but the same tragic expression covered his face

The goddesses dived in to his memory, and watched silently in horror as they saw Hera put mini-Leo into a fireplace. Then, they continued, seeing Hera making Leo to play with knives. That was not all. Artemis and Athena wanted to strangle Hera as they saw her trying to make Leo poke a snake with stick. They could not help but wince as they saw Leo work hard on a crayon drawing so hard, only for the drawing to get blown away by the wind._"You'll find your destiny, and your hard journey will finally make sense. But first you must face many sorrows. I regret that, but heroes cannot be shaped any other way." _

Then they watched as Hera made Leo make a fire, and he seared his fingerprints into the picnic table. Then they watched as Hera disappeared and Leo seemed quite happy, working with his mother. _"I don't care what Callida says, his mom told him. "I don't care about destiny and the fates. You're too young for that. You're still my baby." _They saw as the mother clearly wanted Leo to meet his father one day.

And then it happened. It happened when he was eight. They saw as he walked out of a workshop, only to stop as the mother realized she did not have her keys. _"That's funny." She frowned. "I know I had them. Wait here, mijo. It'll only be a minute."_ And then she gave him one more smile, and walked back into the warehouse.

She'd been gone for a few seconds when the interior door slammed shut. Then the exterior door locked itself. _"Mom?" Leo's heart pounded. Something heavy crashed inside the warehouse._

He ran to the door and no matter how many times he kicked and pulled, it would not open. _"Mom!" Frantically, he tapped a message on the wall: Are you okay?_

_"She can't hear you." a voice said. _He turned and found himself facing a strange woman. At first, Artemis and Athena thought it was Hera, except she had black robes, and a veil covered her face.

_"Tia?" He said. _The women chuckled slowly, like she was half-asleep._"I am not your guardian. Merely a family resemblance." _

_"What-what do you want? Where's my mom?" _

_"Ah, loyal to your mother. How nice. But you see, I have children too... and I understand you will fight them someday. When they try to wake me, you will prevent them. I cannot allow that."  
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**No, no, no, no! **thought Artemis and Athena. If they were right... Olympus was doomed.

_"I don't know you. I don't want to fight anybody." _

_Oh Leo, _thought Hera, _If I could have convinced the fates not to choose you, and had foreseen what would happen if they chose you, I would have stopped them. _

_"A wise choice."_

Their fears came true as they realized that her clothes' materials consisted of earth.

_"I can't destroy you yet," the woman murmured."The Fates will not allow it. But they do not protect your mother, and they cannot stop me from breaking your spirit. Remember this night, little hero, when they ask you to oppose."_

_"Leave my mother alone!" _They watched in pure fear as the woman churned towards Leo.

_"How will you stop me?" she whispered. _

Gaea walked straight through a table, the particles of her body resembling on the other side.

And that was everything finally matched up to Athena. _Fire. No monster attacks. _Gaea had forced Leo's hand, and in turn, got Leo's mother killed in his fire. Athena pulled out of Leo's memory and looked at him with tear-filled eyes. "I'm sorry."

Yet, they did not understand how much those words had gained so little matter to Leo ever since the fire. They did not know how long Leo had heard those words, but they meant very little from the people who said it. They did not know the truth of what happened, and always blamed him. Artemis was the next one who followed, Hera only seconds behind.

"Now, you know what really happened. That's who killed my mother."

Athena looked at Leo with sadness. She knew the boy had suffered, but she thought the mother had died by a monster attack, not killed by Gaea.

"The memories... do they hurt?" asked Artemis. The goddess of the Hunt, who was so antipathetic against pitying boys, was a bit teary herself.

"Not a lot. Having Hestia as a mother helps." Leo lied easily.

"I'll make sure my hunters treat you with respect. That's the least I could do."

"Thank you Lady Artemis."

"Expect the same from my cabin also. Though keep in mind it might be strained since you did not save my daughter." said Athena, making Leo's face soften up for a second, before it washed itself from emotion.

"Thank you Lady Athena. I will make sure that respect is not wasted upon mere foolishness from _boys_. "

Artemis finally disappeared in a flash of soft silver light, knowing her work was clearly cut out for her. First: Hunt down the beast. Second: Try to stop her hunters from pissing off three Olympians at the same time. Third: Tell the hunters that if the boys try anything suspicious, castrate them on sight.

"Can I ask a favor from you, Mr. Valdez?" Athena asked.

"Yes, depending on what it is." Leo assured the wisdom goddess.

"The Poseidon spawn, as you know from his actions, it is clear he loves my daughter. You know I cannot allow that to happen." Athena said.

"Of course, milady. I know how arrogant he is. Your daughter could clearly get someone better." Leo understood the goddess. Pride was at stake here, something valuable for Athena. He could connect with her. Still, he kept his tongue from joking about her relationship with Theseus and how much he missed her.

"I feel that he might try to hurt you because you did not save Annabeth. The boy, as you clearly know, might try to rescue Annabeth himself, and seem like a shining prince to her. I want you to sabotage that in any way as possible." Athena commanded.

"Of course Lady Athena. Trust me, I hate Poseidon's son as much as you do, seeing him dashing in, trying to beat me up just because I defended myself from his friend. But then again, he was a boy, when did they ever have brains? Aside from your children of course." Leo added before Athena could beat him five ways to the winter solstice.

Athena turned around, preparing to leave the garden, but Leo called, "Athena?"

"Yes?"

"Theseus misses you." Athena blushed and put both hands to her red cheeks, and twisted to the side as a cloud of owls engulfed her.

Leo finally faced his psycho godly grandmother.

"Grandmother?"

Hera could not help but smile at the title, no matter how many times she risked it by trying to train Leo early. "I know I have mistreated you, but it was for the best, you know that. I foresaw that Gaea would kill your mother, but you know I could not go against a primordial without making he war for the worse for the future and starting it even earlier. As you foresaw, her second wave is happening after the Titan war, and you will play a vital role in both wars, your part even more important when I learned of your patrons. If the future heroes I know that the fates chose take their parts, you will prevail against Gaea."

"Thank you Grandmother. Do not worry, you did not know what would happen." Leo nodded, but he frowned at the thought of being in another war. "Could you please tell me, at least, who those demigods will take part on the next war?"

"At the moment, I suspect some demigods, though how many, I do not have a clue. Jason Grace, and as you know, son of Jupiter-" she started, but got cut off by Leo.

"Grace? As in Thalia Grace?" Leo asked.

"Yes. You probably wonder why I have not struck them down, but Zeus offered Jason as a peace-offering, and I am his patron. He is not my champion, but if it is necessary I will support him."

"Okay. But does Thalia know she had a brother?"

Hera's face saddened at this, "Yes. But she believes he is dead when her mother, Beryl Grace, handed him to me. She said I killed him, but with your experience on being in both sides, you know better. It also caused Thalia to run away from her mother. She believes Zeus aided her, but it was actually me who led her to her ex-friend Luke."

Leo gestured for her to continue, and she carried on. "Piper McLean, a daughter of Aphrodite, who is one Aphrodite's most powerful daughters. She is especially skilled, though she does not know it, in the most powerful and rarest skill she has, Charmspeak. She is the daughter of a famous mortal actor. Next is Frank Zhang, son of Mars and legacy of Poseidon. He is sadly burdened with the most powerful curses, one that makes his life force bound by a piece of timber. His mother has died in the war in Afghanistan, and he is now still training in the Wolf House. Like Piper, he is not only oblivious to his parentage, but rather believes it is your patron who is his father. He is clueless to his most valuable ability, no matter how many times his mother has hinted at it, which is to change into any animal on earth.

Leo could not help the thought of thinking, _does that count Pokémon? _

Hera summoned herself a glass of water and drank it. Then she swallowed a few drops, before continuing. "The next one is Annabeth Chase, the one who you were not able to save. She is still alive, but her conditions are gruesome."

Hera gulped, trying to calm herself, since she knew the next candidate was at the moment too arrogant to even think about, especially from what she heard from Artemis in the throne room meeting. "The last one, he is the most powerful demigod of his age. Or at least, _was, _until you came along. You just met him minutes ago."

Leo visibly stiffened, and seem horrified at the thought of him. _Seriously that arrogant asshole whose loyalty is a bit too strong for my taste? _thought Leo.

Reading his thoughts, Hera sighed sadly, "Yes. Percy Jackson, no matter how much he is an arrogant asshole, is one of the demigods. I believe due to his power, he has a confirmed place with the demigods."

Leo blushed at he realized she was reading his mind, but shook it off. "Well, it's not like it's true."

Hera flashed a smile of fondness at Leo, "Well, on that I have to agree with you."

Her expression turned serious. "Would you let me claim you as my grandson? I already got permission from Zeus, but I want your personal idea."

"It does not matter grandmother. Well, if the others don't beat you to the first place." He responded.

"Don't remind me. I'm sure you would not want to get claimed by Apollo."

"If that even happens, I might as well castrate myself and join hunters. Seriously, I dealt with the real thing for three years. Last thing I need is getting stuffed in a cabin with the clones of him. Though he is the annoying big brother I've never had, so it wouldn't be that bad." Hera snorted in amusement.

"Well, I'm sure you don't want to be left by the hunters." reminded Hera.

"Yes. Of course Grandmother." Leo said as he kissed Hera in the cheek.

Hera waved her hand, and Leo vanished back into the throne room in a pile of peacock feathers, Hera teleporting the same way. Apollo was still there, the god lazily lounging in his golden throne.

"You choose well dude."

"Yes Apollo, but that does not mean I liked it." Leo said, a hidden sadness in his tone.

"I know how much it sucked doing it, but you choose well. That's all what matters now these days. Hem-hem."

Apollo opened his mouth, probably to recite one of his infamous haikus, only for his voice to get stopped by a hand helped up by Leo. "Please Apollo. I know how much you like to make haikus, but I've had a long day, and something's telling me it's going to get longer, and you're somehow involved in it."

"Fine, but just a limerick? "

Leo cracked a smile, "Yeah right Apollo. And I'm going to start farting rainbows."

Apollo chuckled, glad to see this side of Leo, "Well, I might as well go back to my sis. Last thing we need is the man - haters -"

A silver arrow zoomed into the throne room from one of the windows, slightly arching, and it hit Apollo straight in the ass, making Leo smirk. Unlike Apollo, he had learned to NEVER call Artemis sis - or in his case, aunty - or they would get unpleasant surprises.

Leo grabbed the silver arrow by the shaft, and slowly pulled it out, careful to make sure it did not damage any vital parts. Second by second, the arrow slipped out of the god's butt and slipped out. Leo summoned some nectar and poured it into the wound. Any sign of the arrow was gone, leaving a small hole in Apollo's shorts. He slipped a bandage over the pants so any crazy women would try to have sneak peaks. _  
><em>

"I might as well go towards Lady Artemis' hunters bro. Don't want them to get suspicious." Leo said.

"You got that right. Sis is not the most patient person." Apollo shrugged.

"Oh, and Apollo? Go get another change of clothes while you're running away from the next arrow." Leo said as he melted into the light, seeing another silver arrow right out of the corner of his eyes.


	4. The Eventful Trip to Camp Half-Blood

_Song for the chapter: Bad Blood, Taylor Swift_

**Percy was not feeling the love. **That was quite clear.

It all started when he foolishly tried to chase Dr. Thorn, only to get captured with the Di Angelos. Then, he tried calling for help, only to lead them into an ambush and nearly getting them killed. Then, the most awesome demigod comes in and easily saves them and fights off an entire army. Then, the Hunters of Artemis, with their goddess in tow, easily turned the ambush along with the demigod, into a massacre for the monsters. It seemed Percy's luck would finally improve with this turn of events.

That was until the cliff.

The manticore had decided to take one of them dead, and the lieutenant, the girl with the circlet, grabbed by the monster. Annabeth, stupid Annabeth (which was extremely ironic since she was the daughter of the wisdom goddess), had charged Dr. Thorn, and stabbed the dagger in his back. Artemis, he assumed that was the eight year-old girl, had told them to fire. The arrows had hit the manticore, only for him to jump off the cliff. Percy would have tried to jump off the cliff if it was not for the claws clinging to him. The strange demigod had done that, and managed to save the huntress instead of Annabeth.

That only put him in the top of his list to get even with. Turns out, voilà, the furies were with this dude, and he stood still along with Thalia and Grover in the in the grasp of the furies as the goddess of the hunt and the demigod exchanged words, gesturing to Grover and him like they were pets. Then they got walked by the old hags for ten yards, only to end up with a face full of snow, while Thalia did not even get a snowflake on her. What was up with that?

Then Grover had tried to attack him, after he healed the wounds from the huntress. Grover easily got beaten, and he tried to defend him. His broken arm was a memory of what happened. They already got their injuries tended, but it seemed the hunters were more prone to cause more injuries than the ones they were healing. He wondered why him, Thalia, and Grover could not go to Olympus. He would be able to see his father, and they would get the deal on the guy.

Grover was not helping the time pass by. He asked what made Grover attack the demigod, his temper getting stronger when Grover mentioned that the demigod was the one to knock him out. Thalia's ire turned to his best friend when he mentioned that he dragged the demigod to the entrance without a reason, explaining why the demigod had knocked him unconscious.

"Grover, what is wrong with you? Why did you not ask us to help you?" demanded Thalia, whose eyes shined with blue electricity.

"You guys were keeping an eye on the Di Angelos, remember? When we entered the dance floor, there was a new smell in the room, and it was from none of us. The furies, they were all talking to the guy -" Grover explained but he got interrupted by Thalia.

"You knew the furies were in there? Why did you not tell us to get out of there when you knew the quest is doomed to fail? If it were not for that hot dude, we would already have ourselves in the middle of Luke's custody. The manticore was clearly expecting us, and when monsters filled the place, you kept it to yourself. In fact, I should be grateful to the demigod that saved us for kicking your butt."

"Come on Thalia, you cannot blame Gr -"

"Shut it Jackson. It was one thing for him for letting the monsters catch up to Annabeth, Luke, and I. It was the same thing when he lost track of you in New York. It is a completely different thing to keep us from important information that could have helped us in there. He also hid from us that there was a new demigod in there, and instead went to him. If you still blame him, then I know this group is screwed. If one thing, I will not be with you guys just because of a few sore bruises. If it were not for you Grover, Annabeth would still be here!" she yelled, and marched out of the tent the hunters had given them.

A small silver light showed itself from the outside, and Percy poked his head out of the small tent. His eyes drooped with hurt and a bit of betrayal as he saw Thalia talking to the demigod at Artemis' side, they were clearly hitting it off. Grover followed his line of sight, and a his expression turned slightly depressed.

"She's right you know. If it was not because of me, Annabeth would still be with us."

"Hey G - Man, don't be like that."

"But you know its true." Percy had nothing to say after that.

He saw the lieutenant led by Artemis into one of the tents, along with Bianca Di Angelo, Thalia, and the demigod. That was the real mystery. The three of them had seen her and Nico carried by the furies into the shadows, only for them to reappear about one hour after Artemis and the demigod had teleported to Mount Olympus. He wondered why Hades spared them. One thing he knew of his uncle was that he was cruel, but why would he spare two demigods?

He followed them into the tent, which must have belonged to Artemis. He saw various pelts mainly consisting of bears, rabbits, he could have sworn he saw one from animals that were not seen for centuries on end. Then again, Artemis had lived for centuries, so the pelts were probably that old. He sneaked into the tent. The place seemed more _house _than tent. It had two fires, one in a simple fireplace, while the other was in a silver brazier, the fire the same color as the silver bowl.

Silk rugs and pillows covered the floor. On a polished oak display stand was the bow of Artemis, the craftsmanship making it seem like gazelle horns. Artemis sat a bit farther away from the fireplace, in a rather simple throne with a small deer that had glittering fur and silver horns, its head resting comfortably in the deer's lap. On the other side of the tent, closer to the fireplace was the demigod. Unlike Artemis, who had a deer in her lap, the demigod had a rather fluffy cat. It had grey, smoky fur, and wild golden eyes. It's head was softly being petted, rousing a bunch of purrs from the pet.

Bianca was sitting nearby the demigod, admiring the cat, touching it's fur occasionally. Zoe sat down at Artemis' right, staring curiously at the demigod.

"Wait a second." the demigod said, breaking the tranquil atmosphere.

For a second, Percy saw a glint of gold coming from the demigod's hand, only to feel something shoot past him. Pain burst from his left cheek, his hand dashing to cover the injury.

"That was the warning shot, boy." the demigod warned.

"At ease, champion. I'm sure he meant no harm." Artemis calmed down the demigod.

Percy finally walked out towards the middle of the tent. "Not you, boy."

For a moment, Percy's face took a splatter of confusion. It was only a yell of "OW! Ow! stop it!" to finally clear up the mystery.

Percy turned around to find Grover, who was defending himself against golden eyed cat, its claws already tinted with blood. The cat easily cut the string connecting his reed pipes to his neck, and jumped to the floor. For a second, Percy saw no sign of the cat as the reed pipes got engulfed in a grey cloud. The cloud vanished seconds later, leaving the cat, who was lazily licking a paw, and a cloud of wood dust that was Grover's reed pipes. Grover tried to grab the wood dust, only to back away as the cat's claws darted towards his family jewels.

"Yes, you satyr. I might have forgiven your friend since he was only following his loyalty, but you clearly show the qualities of a boy. Leave now, before my familiar decides to take it one step closer." the demigod warned, energy spiking the air.

Grover immediately backed away, bleeding red cheeks that could have made a good imitation for a tomato, and he shot a glare to the demigod.

The demigod walked towards him, and held out a hand. "I know we did not get off on the wrong foot, but it was only because you thought you were helping your friend. For that, I understand. Is it possible we could start over again?"

Percy shook the demigod's hand. "Very well. My name is Leo Valdez." said the demigod.

"Perseus Jackson, but please, call me Percy." he responded back.

"Now Bianca, are you sure you want to do this?" asked Artemis.

"Do what?" Percy was as usual, confused.

"The hunters... they invited me to the hunt."

"What? But you can't! You have to come to Camp Half-Blood so Chiron can train you. It's the only way you can learn to survive." Percy spouted.

"It is not the only way for a girl," Zoë said.

"Or for a boy." Leo added, while he looked fondly at the fireplace. For a second, he saw a girl waving at Leo, the same one Percy had seen in his first time at Camp Half-Blood.

Percy could not believe this was happening. "Bianca, camp is cool! It's got a Pegasus Stable and a sword fighting arena and..."

"Children of the minor gods that are treated like a second class, each one stuffed in the Hermes cabin. I promise, Bianca is going to lie in the Hermes cabin along with her brother. When you compare that, the Hunt is more appealing, despite that her brother cannot join the hunt." Leo said, and Bianca stared daggers at Percy.

"Just, what do the hunters offer you?" Percy said, recovering from Leo's comment.

"To begin with," Zoë said, "immortality."

He stared right at Artemis. "She's kidding, right?"

"Zoë rarely jokes about anything. My hunters follow me on my adventures. They are my maidservants, my companions, my sisters-in-arms. Once they swear loyalty to me, they are immortal... unless someone kills them, or they fall in love, which thus, would break their oath to forswear romantic love forever." she looked at Leo. "Last time I checked, you made a similar promise in the past?"

Leo's expression darkened, but it faded away for a few seconds and he nodded. Percy tried to imagine life with the hunters. Living with adolescents forever. No birthdays, no little gifts and the ever constant low chance that you would get killed in the process. To say he could not get his head wrapped around it was an understatement.

"So, you just go around the country, recruiting half-bloods -"

"Not just half-bloods," Zoë interrupted. "Lady Artemis does not discriminate by birth."

_Or by pantheon, _Leo added in his mind.

"All who honor the goddess may join. Half-Bloods, mortals, nymphs -" there were more to the list, Leo knew that since Hermes gave him the update of the entire world.

"Which are you then?" Percy asked.

Leo had to stop himself from slapping the son of Poseidon, did he not know when to still his tongue?

"That is not of your concern, Perseus. The gist of it is that Bianca can choose if she wants to." Leo explained, barely hiding his anger.

"Bianca, this is crazy." Percy said. "What about your brother? Nico can't be a hunter."

"Do not worry Perseus. I will be in Camp Half-Blood for gods know how long. I will keep an eye on Nico while you're gone chasing for your Annabel Lee." Leo explained, while Zoë and Artemis smiled at what Leo really meant.

"Her name's Annabeth!"

"Aw, is dear Romeo worried for his Juliet? Everyone knows what is going on between you and her." Leo teased.

The girls in the room giggled a little, while Percy's face tinted itself red. "There is nothing going on between us!"

"Seeing you dancing in Westover clearly shows otherwise."

Percy first thought this guy was awesome, but it was clear he was a jerk. Zoë noticed the boy joking around, while the son of Poseidon was clearly so stupid, he could clearly not make a comeback. Still, appearances had to still be maintained, no matter how funny things were taking route.

"Shut up boy, before I castrate you." Percy sent a grateful look towards her, but backed off when she returned the look with a cruel glare.

"Still... the offer is quite appealing." Bianca said after the talk had died down.

"You can see him from time to time." Artemis assured Bianca. "But you will be free of responsibility, except for chores in the camp. Nico will clearly be taken care of Leo. And you will have a new family. Us."

"A new family." Bianca repeated it like it was ambrosia from Olympus. "Free of responsibility."

"Bianca, you cant do this," Percy said. "It's nuts."

"I have had enough of your talk boy. We are just setting the facts for Bianca. True, that camp might have other demigods and sword-fighting, but Bianca will be able to see the entire country, not locked in some little valley. Plus she will be immortal." Leo's expression turned solemn. "But Bianca, you know that you will turn immortal. One day, Nico will die, and you will never see him again until you are killed in battle, right?"

Bianca turned to Zoë, "Is it worth it?"

Zoë nodded. "It is."

"What do I have to do?"

"Say this." Zoë told her. "I pledge myself to the goddess Artemis."

"I... I pledge myself to the goddess Artemis."

"I turn my back on the company of men, accept eternal maidenhood, and join the hunt."

Bianca repeated the lines. "Is that it?" she asked with wondering.

"If Lady Artemis accepts your oath, then it is binding." explained Leo.

"I accept it."

The flames in the brazier lightened, filling the room in silver light. Bianca looked no different, but she took a deep breath and opened her eyes. "I feel... stronger."

"I know how you feel. Kind of like when my patrons claimed me as their champion." Leo said with sympathy.

"Welcome, sister," Zoe congratulated Bianca.

"Remember your pledge. It is your life, your purpose and your anchor to partial immortality."

Percy could not speak. He felt like an invader, an idiot. He could not believe that he had gone through so much, only to have a sideshow and leave Bianca with the club of man haters, which mainly consisted of Artemis, the hunters, and Leo. He could clearly see him forming a hunter's group for guys.

"Do not worry, Perseus Jackson. You will be able to show the di Angelos your home. And Nico will surely stay there in the company of Leo." Artemis said.

"Great, how are we supposed to get there?"

Artemis closed her eyes. "Dawn is approaching. Zoë, I will have word with you later. Break camp along with the other hunters. You must get to Camp Half-Blood as swiftly and safely as possible. I shall send for a ride from my brother."

This seemed to spark a bomb inside Leo as he unleashed torrents of what he guessed was spanish. He clearly knew who was providing our ride, and he didn't like it, nor did he stop for several minutes. It was not until he paused, did Percy look around him. Zoë was covering her mouth, but that did not stop her laughter. Artemis looked at Leo with a highly amused expression.

"I did not know you hated your patron so much, but your words ring truth. I have wanted to say that about him for millennia."

"Um... what did you say?" Percy asked.

"You don't want to know."

Zoë finally moved out of the tent along with Bianca, her laughter still ringing in the tent. Leo looked at Artemis and Percy. "Well, I might as well go stock up on shurikens. Something's going to tell me this is going to be a long ride." he said as he slipped out of the tent.

"OK, what is going on?" Percy asked.

"Bianca is not the only one with an annoying brother. It's time for you to meet my irresponsible twin, Apollo."

* * *

><p><strong>Leo was not expecting to <strong>get interrogated by a ten-year old when he got back to the Hunter's camp. He could not blame Bianca for choosing the hunters. Everyone needed independence. Bianca had gotten very little in her years in the Lotus Casino, taking care of Nico. The barrage of questions all started when Bianca started explaining to Nico why she joined the hunt, bedecked in the silver and black clothes of the Hunters.

The night, despite Artemis' confirmation that dawn was on the way, was as black as obsidian, the stars' fading the only clue that Artemis was right. He was sharpening his shurikens, the gold creating small sparks as it scratched against the celestial bronze cube. He cleaned each star, polishing them until it could show whatever light there was in the middle of the light. In the meantime, he was summoning enough cotton balls (they counted as medical supplies) for every person that would be traveling with them.

He had enough haikus from Apollo to last one lifetime, and he wished to spare the others from them. It did not help that he tried to sing the opera these days, (they already brought him nightmares) and if it were not for the fact that it would hurt as hell, he would have already ripped his ears off. He loved Apollo like an older brother, the annoying type, but he wanted the others to suffer none of the crossfire.

The cold did not bother him. He had learned to create a small barrier of heat, so any cold air was immediately repelled from him. Perseus was holding himself, the cold clearly affecting him. His satyr friend was trying to get the tree nymphs to make him a new set of pipes, but the satyr had already pushed his luck when he tried to attack him. The nymphs had seen the attack from the distance, and seen how he tried to attack Leo. If the satyr ever wanted to ask someone, first impression was vital. The nymphs were clearly a good example.

In the distance, he saw Lady Artemis with Zoë Nightshade under a leafless oak tree, the duo in discussion. The hunters were quickly breaking camp as quickly as they built it, which was literally in a few minutes. He saw Thalia near the wolves, sitting underneath a pine tree, which was kind of funny, since she was the same type of tree for a few years until last summer. A smidge of pity entered him. It was not Thalia's fault for having two nut headed friends, since he heard the small verbal assault to the satyr.

It was only until he got nudged by the shoulder blades did he look up from his weapons. It was the boy, Nico. His black eyes were sparkling with interest, and he saw in Nico's hands were a bunch of cards. He saw small figurines, from Artemis with her silver bow, Hermes with his caduceus, and Athena with her aegis. He carried a small backpack, and he saw even more cards.

He got bombarded by various questions. Is Annabeth Percy's girlfriend? (He answered that immediately, saying yes, they were a couple) Does Zeus really have lightning bolts that do six hundred damage? (No, that was his ego.) What about Dr Thorn? Is he dead? (He said that no, he was not dead. Though he expected him to get slayed sooner or later.) Is Zoë your girlfriend because you saved her from the monster? (He laughed at that one and said no, they were not a couple. He also promised that if he asked that again or to Zoë, he would stuff him in a meat-flavored sack and toss him to the wolves.) What was that cat's name and could he pet him? (He said Greystorm for the first, and yes for the latter.)

He answered the rest of them merrily, and he was kind of nice. A bit on the immature side, but a good person. Then again, he had dealt with the two most juvenile Olympian Council members, so he could easily befriend him. Nico was sitting at his left, Greystorm in his lap. They were both playing that game, Mythomagic. It was not until the sky was a lighter tint of grey did he realize dawn was on the way.

"Let's go. My patron is arriving." No questions asked, except the single one of who was his patron, which he said that he was going to learn soon. Greystorm was at clinging by the claws to his left shoulder. The cat stayed in his shoulder, uninterrupted by him standing up and walking to Lady Artemis and Zoë Nightshade. For a second, the cat rubbed its cheek against Zoë's making Leo chuckle.

"Aw, he likes you." Zoë eyed both cat and owner warily. It was the first time she got touched by an animal not owned by Artemis, and they usually were too frightened to even try.

She glared at the animal, only for its shiny gold eyes to return the glare with its own. She could not help but feel a sense of grudging respect for Leo and the cat, the cat mainly because he had nerves that could rival Artemis' wolves, and Leo because he had not only gained Artemis' respect, but for training a pet well enough that it easily intimidated a satyr by trying to castrate him with its claws.

Artemis muttered, "About time. He's so-o-o lazy during the winter."

"Amen to that, Lady Artemis. Amen to that."

"You're, um, waiting for sunrise?" Percy asked.

"No, we're waiting for the magic beanstalk to appear." Leo said, his voice heavily laced with sarcasm.

Percy's cheeks could have gotten sunburned by now.

There was a sudden burst of light on the horizon. A blast of heat, like nature had turned up the grill.

"Don't look." Leo told the demigods. "Not until he parks."

All eyes, (except Leo's) turned away as the heat and light intensified by a million. Then, the light quickly faded. Right were the burst of heat was, it had gotten replaced by a convertible Maserati Spyder. It glowed in golden light. Leo could not help but be reminded of the first time he had seen the Sun Chariot when he was running from Lycaon. The heat from the sun chariot had made the snow melt in a perfect circle, quickly replaced by grass. Apollo stepped out of the car, wearing a sleeveless T-shirt, loafers, and blue jeans.

"Wow." he heard Thalia mutter, "Apollo is hot."

Leo mentally groaned. "Please Thalia, if Apollo ever heard that from you, his ego would easily be the size of your father's throne." he whispered to his cousin.

"Little Sister! Leo!" Apollo called. Nearly the entire group turned to Leo. "What? He's my patron." The hunters all sneered at Leo, but Zoë tried to keep her face stoic.

"What's up? You never call. You never write. I was getting worried."

_For good reason she does not do anything of the earlier. _thought Leo.

Artemis sighed, "I'm fine Apollo. And I'm not your _little _sister."

"Hey, I was born first."

"We're twins! How many millennia do we have to argue -"

"So what's up?" he interrupted. "Got the girls with you, I see. You all need some tips on archery?"

"If that ever happens, it's the first sign of the apocalypse." Leo whispered to Nico, who snickered at his words.

"You know I have father's mission. I need you to take my companions to Camp Half-Blood."

"Sure sis!" He raise his hands in a _stop everything _gesture. " I feel a haiku coming on."

"Apollo, te juro si incluso tratas de hacer un haiku , voy a castrar a usted." Leo threatened in spanish.

The hunters (except Bianca) were barely holding back laughter, while Apollo's sun-tanned face was pale. Artemis was watching the event with pure amusement, while the others looked at Leo like he was crazy.

"Okay, okay, no need to break out the knives, jeez." Apollo said, but his face was still pale.

Zoë turned to the demigods. "Lord Apollo has gone through his haiku phase ever seen he visited Japan."

"Um, yeah... I might have had a hand in that." Leo said.

Zoë turned towards Leo with a glare. "And what did you do?"

"Well, my mother and I, along with Apollo were visiting Japan. Long story short, I was the one who showed him haikus. Luckily, when he even tries to say one I can shut him up."

Zoë shook her head, "Well, at least you can silence him." she said softly, leaving Leo immensely confused.

The others did not know it, but he was scared of that girl, she looked ready to feed him to the wolves seconds ago. How can she change so quickly?

"Anyway, it's not as bad as the time he visited Limerick -" Zoë looked at him, "Let me guess, you were also involved in that too?"

"Had to go to a boarding school in nearby Scotland, if you know what I mean." Leo winked, and Zoë realized he knew too much of the world.

She could not help but look at Leo. His hair, which it's tips last time were dyed brown, attained a soft golden color. His skin had a coppery tone, kind of like hers. A scar carved into his right cheek, and from what Artemis had said, he had gotten it from a sadistic foster-father. But what interested her the most was his eyes. They were a combination of gold and red, sometimes shifting so it seemed that they looked as if they made of fire, but they were warm and friendly. They also carried an immense pain, making him seem older than any of them.

Zoë knew that expression. She saw it from every hunter with the worst past. Lady Artemis revealed very little about him, except how he had gotten his scar, adding an air of mystery around him. The only thing she had ever said about his past was that he had suffered more than any of the hunters. She also mentioned that if they try to do anything to him, they would piss off five Olympians in one blow.

"Well!" Apollo finally said, "We'd better load up, huh? Ride only goes one way-west. And if you miss it, you miss it. Right Leo?"

Leo blushed, remembering many times he had missed Apollo's sun chariot, often ending up stuck in a foreign country without supplies.

"Cool car." said Nico.

"Thanks, kid, " Apollo said.

"But how are we all going to fit?" Nico asked.

"London bus?" Leo faced his patron.

"London bus." Apollo agreed.

He took out his car keys and beeped the security alarm button. For a moment, the car glowed brightly again. When the flashing lights ended, Zoë knew Leo was _way _into many things. Where the car once stood, there was a purple london double-decker bus.

"Right, everybody in." Apollo said.

Zoë ordered the hunters to start loading. She picked up her camping pack, and Apollo said, "Here sweet -"

The words stopped as a golden shuriken zoomed past his ear and nearly hit Grover and the sun chariot. Like a boomerang, the ninja star flew around in the air, only to fly back into Leo's hand. He pulled out another one, and Apollo immediately backed away, detecting his champion's rage. If it ever came this far, it was the warning that Apollo had crossed the line in Leo's values. they had their own values, and it was in their agreement that if Apollo tried to even flirt with a woman right in front of Leo, he was allowed to fight back.

Zoë shot at look of gratitude towards Leo, but his face did not give anything away.

"Brother." Artemis scolded him. "You do not help my hunters. You do not look at, talk to, or flirt with my hunters. And you do not calm them sweetheart." she glanced at Leo. "Could you make sure he follows these standards?"

"Of course, Lady Artemis."

"Come on! No support back at home base?"

"My patron, you already closed that line. I forgive you, but I expect not to see any similar behavior."

Apollo spread his hands. "Sorry. I forgot."

"Hey sis, where are you off to, anyway?"

"Hunting. It's none of your business."

"I'll find out. I see all. Know all."

"I'm sure that's Athena's job." said Leo, while Artemis snorted in agreement.

"Just drop them off Apollo. And no messing around!"

"I don't think he might able to resist, but I will keep an eye on him." Leo convinced the goddess.

"Come on, is this gang-up on Apollo day?"

"It is when you really annoy us," Leo said, making Apollo pout.

Leo looked back. Artemis was knelt to the ground. When she stood, she seemed worried. "So much risk. The creäture must be hunted down and brought to Olympus before the Titans find it. Or else, Olympus will fall."

She ran toward the woods and delved into the woods and darkness. Apollo walked back into the bus which was filled with the hunters who were all tucked in with the back and upper level, though Leo thought it was a bit harsh of Bianca of leaving her brother all alone in the front, the son of Hades standing in front with the campers. Least she could do was sit with him for one last ride before she left camp after the winter solstice.

_Stop it, Leo. You promised Bianca that you would take care of Nico. It's time to keep that promise. _He reminded himself.

"This is so cool!" Nico said, jumping up and down the driver's seat. He could remember those childish actions like his own. "Is this the real sun? I thought Helios and Selene were the sun and moon gods. How come sometimes it's them and sometimes it's you and Artemis?"

"Downsizing. The romans started it. I don't know why they did it, but they stopped sacrificing to those gods and instead gave their jobs to Apollo and Artemis. Helios and Selene were forgotten by the time Rome's empire fell." Leo explained. _But it still lives on, _he reminded himself.

"But how does it work? Nico asked. "I thought the sun was one big fiery ball of gas."

"It is. Well, on the astronomy scale. The sun chariot is its manifestation of everything that ball of gas gives to humanity. It's heat, it's light, _that's _the bus were at in the moment in. It's one of the most important sources of light. Do you understand?"

"Yes. Wait, one of the sources?" Nico asked.

Leo knew he might have taken this way too far, but the kid deserved the truth. Though his little immature brain might explode from the info overload, he still needed the truth.

"What do you know of Egyptian mythology?"

"Passengers, this is your captain speaking. Today, the sun chariot will be driven by Leo Valdez!" Leo got saved by the Apollo bell.

Nearly all the hunters gave him the evil eye, while the campers glared at him in envy. Leo pondered out the situation. If he let one of the hunters take the wheel, he would seem weak in front of the other campers. If he chose one of the _boys, _or decided to drive it himself, he would probably get several arrows up his arse. That left the only option of Thalia.

"Sorry my patron, but I'm feeling a bit tired after the events in Olympus. Is it possible Thalia can take my place?" Thalia's eyes popped wide as Apollo guided her to the pilot's seat. After a short discussion, Apollo was already guiding the daughter of Zeus in the basics.

"Wear that seat belt dude. Something tells me this ride is about to get ugly." he told Nico. The son of Hades nearly tripped himself trying to put it on.

His words were true when the bus immediately burst up so quickly, he nearly got his bouts of car sickness. He winced as he felt Greystorm's claws dig into his shoulder's skin. Greystorm let out a caterwaul, telling him something was really wrong.

"Your face is green!" Nico's squeal somehow managed to overcome the scream that came out. Leo nearly choked with laughter when he realized it was the son of Poseidon who caused it.

The bus suddenly started plummeting, and he could see the city of Attleboro down below. He hoped the Cahill family liked the heat in Attleboro. He saw Zoë catapulted from her seat, and his hand dashed forward before the front window could break when she slammed into it. Leo lifted the girl and put her in the seat next to Nico. He immediately unbuckled his seat belt.

"What are you doing? You're going to get yourself killed!" yelled Nico.

"Oh Nico, you already know I'm not an ordinary demigod. Why should the same laws be limited to me? Other factions have given me certain abilities." He said as he stepped into the corridor, Greystorm clinging to his shoulder.

The force of gravity was massive as he slowly stepped forward, grabbing the front seats. The satyr was covering his mouth, his face a poisonous toxic green. The son of Poseidon's face was white as a piece of paper. Then there was Thalia. Her electric blue eyes were glinting with panic, her grip stone hard against the wheel. He gasped as he looked at Apollo.

His patron's face smashed into the dashboard, the device somehow spared. The sun-god was unconscious, clueless to his surroundings. He grabbed Thalia and dragged her away from the wheel before the sun could slam into the city and start an immense fire. He grabbed at the wheel and hit the gas. The london bus slowly, but surely, got higher and higher. He was calm and collected, making sure that the chariot stayed in the proper height and making the temperature comfortable for the world below, at least for a cold winter day. Greystorm had already jumped down from his shoulder, purring in content.

He turned around to make sure the others were all right, only to get a fist to the face. It stung a bit, but that was because of the fur in the fist. He immediately grabbed the fist and spun the satyr with one hand to his arm and the other in the wheel. The satyr slammed into the ground, looking up to the ceiling. Removing his left leg from the seat, he used it and kicked the satyr in the face. A painful _crack _was heard as the kick knocked the satyr into sleep. Greystorm jumped in, clawing at the satyr's face, and he vaguely saw him add some of those scratches to his penis.

Greystorm, once satisfied on the damage he had wrecked upon the satyr, he started licking his grey fur, which was a bit stained from the satyr's blood. He climbed up the seat and back into his lap, comforting himself after the chaotic ride.

He tried to put on his best official voice and said, "This is your captain Leo speaking. There were some, _ah, _difficulties. Hunters, if you want to know who was responsible, the mentioned satyr is at the moment right in the front."

A few hunters, consisting of Bianca, Zoë, and a few others went to the front of the bus and picked up the satyr, all armed with silver knives. Each one of the hunters picked up the satyr, while Leo saw Zoë give a small chunk of meat towards his companion. Leo felt someone's eyes on him, but shook it off, believing it was Nico or Perseus. He rode for two hours straight, one eye on the horizon, which was a soft blue, and the other on the wheel. He was softly petting Greystorm, who was stretched out on his laps, each paw lifted forward so he looked mid-leap. Leo would occasionally turn around and check on the others. Thalia was often giving him thankful looks. She did not need to do it. It was just what the situation demanded.

Percy was staring worryingly, longingly, at the second floor, which contained many of the Hunters, and Zoë, along with his satyr friend. Gods knew what they were doing to him. Nico was shuffling between his cards, stacking them in rows, and putting them back into his backpack, repeating the process many times. He would often take out many figurines, the one he had shown Leo earlier. Apollo was still snoring away, but Leo did not mind that. The less time he had to talk to his adopted bigger brother, the more peaceful the ride was going to be.

He pulled out his I-phone, and checked anything on Grover in the internet. His name would not have appeared ever since Percy's twelfth year, but there would be records of him. What he found out made his blood boil, but he reigned in his emotions before he showed any signs of it.

That's when he saw it. Camp Half-Blood.

It was a real downer after roaming the world with his mother and father, the Car-TARDIS their personal hotel (which was actually Hermes' chariot) from the snow-decked streets and palaces through Russia, to the cobblestone sidewalks of London, and swimming in the beaches in the Bahamas. It was beautiful, that was true, but it was somehow alien. Even he had felt comfortable in the Underworld, training with the dead legends of long ago. Cabins, probably for each god, had about twenty feet of space between them, each one more bizarre than the others, but except for the one that looked like a small factory and the one with the messy red paint job, each one had its own beauty.

A small forest occupied some of the area, and from the air, he could see a pile of stones (which looked like a pile of dragon dung) and a limestone cliff. There was a strawberry patch, which was likely to get used for profit. It looked like the entire camp was there, their numbers consisting from two-hundred to three-hundred, which Leo knew they needed to expand their numbers if they were going to make it past the two coming wars. He shuddered internally at the thought.

He slowly descended into the car into clearing, nearby a baby-blue house which was Dionysus' home for the moment. The car landed with a soft thud into the ground.

"Welcome back to the land of the living, bro." Leo said as he saw Apollo rising out of his deep sleep.

"What happened Leo? All I remember was that we were hovering over Attleboro, and something hit me against the dash -"

"It was the satyr. Do not worry Apollo. Last time I saw him, the hunters dragged him away upstairs. Can you go check outside? Last time I saw, there was a welcoming party." Leo scowled.

Apollo shook his head, and faced the demigods. "Why can't you control your friend, Jackson?" He said as he stepped out of the bus.

"I thought he was going to help you guys."

"And you did nothing to stop him?"

"I was about to stop him when the chariot started falling down."

"I hope the hunters killed him -"

"I hope they don't. Despite all the problems -"

"Problems that he alone had caused, Perseus. While I admire your loyalty to your friends, you must know when they cause too much trouble for your own good for the wrong cause. If they fight for what is right, or you can understand their motivations, then support them with all you have. If they do the wrong things for the wrong reasons, then you allow yourself to be deceived if you still consider them your friends." Leo lectured.

"But this is not Grover! The Grover I knew -"

"Was never the Grover you ever knew. Think of it Perseus. The reason you were in the sea of monsters was because of Grover, who looked at you like an ally. So far in all your quests, Grover was the most prominent one. But was he ever helpful?" Leo asked.

"He helped us against Medusa! He saved us from crashing to our deaths in Waterland!" That was came to Percy's mouth before he tried to think on more stuff.

Leo realized this, and gestured for him to continue "And?"

"But he's my best friend! I have guarded him from bullies ever since Yancy-"

"And did you ever hear him say anything to the other students? Did you ever see if the school had some insight in this, or any spins Grover might have pulled on the story?" Leo pulled his I-phone from his pocket. He had prepared for this argument, and tapped the Safari app.

Percy instantly recognized the site. It was the school newspaper, the Yancy Editorial. Grover often said whatever they wrote was full of bull, so he never bothered to read it. It did not help that he had dyslexia and ADHD, making it nearly impossible to read the paper. Luckily, Leo had made a special app in his phone, turning any documents, from newspaper articles to Fan fiction, so it came really handy when he had to look up the dictionary or a new book.

Percy's eyes stared down in pure revolt as he saw in the paper what the article said.

_YOUNG STUDENT TRIES TO STOP BULLYING AFTER TRYING TO HELP WEAK FRIEND_

_By Aletheia Sancus_

_There has always been a problem in bullying for the Academy. From the ruffians that specifically choose those younger or smaller than them, to girls with silver tongues just because the others choose to follow their own paths in vanity, to the loners who avoid the gangs' memberships, only to end up days later swirlied, wedgied or worse. Every teacher sees this Young student Grover Underwood, one of the many students in Yancy Academy, has recently taken a new stand against bullying. He has recently tried to remove tolerance from this type of activity, along with a group of other fellow students, knowing his friend Perseus Jackson was a victim of bullying. From scathing replies, to threats by the so-called 'champions' of the school, Mr. Underwood has tried to soften the academy's harsh wrath. _

_"It is true of what happened to Mr. Jackson. I often, along with my friend Grover, have often been witnesses to various bullying activity based on Perseus." said Nancy Bobofit, a close friend of Grover's. These activities have also been seen by former student of the Academy, Matt Sloan, along with a bunch of other, more appealing candidates. _

Percy's eyes scanned the page angrily as more paragraphs the phone showed, all deliberately depicting him cowardly, not the part in which he was the one defending Grover. He was not angry of the way the paper depicted him, but because who made his rep him like that. Written all over the document was Grover's name, along with several bullies in the academy as Grover's friends. But one question was in his mind.

"Why would Grover do this?" he asked to Leo.

"I don't know, but he probably saw that you were a demigod, but wanted him in your good graces when your father claimed you. He most likely wanted to share part of the glory you would win when you finish your quest, while also making a monkey of you in the mortal world if you ever decided to go back to your mother."

Thalia, who was watching the argument by the sidelines, looked at the upper floor, which flooded itself with the noises of shuffling as each hunter picked up their bags. She gestured to Leo to hand over the cellphone which he slowly did.

"Goat boy's going to have Hades to pay when the hunters are done with him." she said as she skimmed the phone.

"By the way, aren't monsters attracted to mobile devices?" asked Thalia.

"Yes, but this is monster-proof, given by my adopted father, Hermes." Leo said.

Apollo walked in, "Hunters, Leo, you are clear to go outside without any of the boys or girls trying to flirt with you." He said as the hunters entered the first floor one by one.

Slowly, they each exited the bus, Leo sitting in one of the seats with Nico in respect for the hunters as they each walked out of the bus in their silver and black uniforms.

"Wait." Leo told Zoë, "What did you do to that satyr bastard?"

A mischievous look lined her eyes, one Leo liked, and her fingers signalled a three. It changed in to a two, and next into a one. When it closed into a fist, a screech filled the sun chariot. He saw the satyr, fur covered in his own blood, licking his tongue, which ran with goat meat. He sprinted over his former friends, leaving clumps of goat fur all over the chairs. He finally got out of the bus nearly trampling the hunters, his fur still falling, until he was a pile of pink flesh, hands scraping his tongue in front of the Hunters.

Both the campers and the hunters nearly fell on the stomachs laughing at the sight, while all the satyrs looked at Grover in disgust. Several plump ones with salt and pepper hair said some rather cruel comments, and one of them said that he had lost all faith within the council, and the young satyr seemed to get to the point of tears. He ran out into the woods in shame, a trail of yellow liquid showing that he had wet himself while throwing himself to the ground. Finally, Zoë walked out of the bus with an amused look.

"I like your style." he whispered into Zoë.

"Watch it Griffindor-boy. If you get too close, I might decide to take your crown jewels." Zoë said threateningly, but she felt kind of embarrassed at the slip of the tongue.

"Very well. Oh, and by the way, veinte puntos puntos a la chica de Ravenclaw." Leo said teasingly, before backing off and standing next to Nico.

Zoë's cheeks blushed, only for her to get rid of the heat in her cheeks. She should not be blushing because of a _boy. _She was a hunter of Artemis after all.

A centaur, with white hair in his horse half, with brown curly hair on his head approached the two groups. Chiron, Leo thought, since he was the only centaur that resided in Camp Half-Blood. The man had kind, wise eyes that looked over the demigods with pride, especially gliding over Perseus and Thalia constantly. His eyes addressed Leo carefully like a science experiment, one that could blow up in front of his face if he did not play his cards the right way.

The sun chariot, in the meantime had shifted back to Hot Rod form, the Maserati flying back into the cold blue sky. Leo gave a small wave as it disappeared and turned back to earlier said ball of gas.

"Campers!" Chiron called, attempting to get their attention, "This is Leo Valdez, son of Lord Hermes-" a rising cheer from the Hermes cabin cut him short, mainly led by two blue-eyed, twins. Chiron promptly shut the cheer down, and continued.

"He is the son of Lord Hermes, and Lady Hestia." Chaos (no, not the primordial) reigned the field, until Chiron controled the demigods and hunters to silence .

"I am capable of understanding your bewilderment. Leo is not a god, but a demigod. Apollo told me that he was taken in by both Lord Hermes and Lady Hestia. He is also Lady Hestia and Lord Apollo's champion. His past is his to tell, but be careful of your approach. All other male campers, he also is rather fond of some of Lady Artemis' goals, and he is not afraid to fight you, or take your genitalia in the process." Chiron said.

The effect spread over the campers like a flood, each one eyeing him fearfully. The Hermes cabin didn't look so enthusiastic of having the dude in their cabin, even if he seemed bad ass. Even the Ares cabin looked a bit squeamish.

Chiron resumed his explanation, "He will be joining us, along with Mr. Di Angelo, the younger boy at his side, at camp. I hope you make him and his friend feel welcome."

Chiron looked over at Leo who shook his head.

"I am sure your father's cabin will take you in." Chiron said, before gasps filled the field.

Houston, Olympus has a problem, or someone was _really _busy.

Above his head, there were various symbols of the Olympian council, each one in mid-fight, from Zeus' Thunderbolt, to Hades' Helmet of darkness in mid-flight. The only symbols that were absent from the fight was Hephaestus' hammer, Poseidon's trident, Dionysus' grapes, and Artemis silver bow. Instantly, all of the two big three's symbols were out of the field, blasted away by fire from an orange hearth. A blood-red axe mauled through symbols relentlessly, while a soft red rose was picked up by a grey owl, only for it to burst into feathers by a golden bow's arrows.

A green cornucopia was blasting away food at the other symbols, only for it to fall by a caduceus stabbing it in the back by the tips, the snake slowly gnawing on the wood. It was only minutes until nearly all the symbols got wiped out, the only ones remaining were the Caduceus, the golden bow, and the orange fireplace. They looked like they were nodding, until they faded, only for them to get replaced by a mirage of colors. Nearly everyone's eyes widened, while Thalia had a sickly expression.

Chiron stuttered out his next words, "Hera, Creator of Empires, Child-Bearer, Mother of Peacocks. Hail, Leo Valdez, grandson of the Queen of Olympus."


End file.
